Lost 1949 Picasso Aquatint Recovered in Milwaukee After 8 Years
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 14
Lost 1949 Picasso Aquatint Recovered in Milwaukee After 8 Years
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 14
Summary
A 1949 Picasso aquatint stolen from a Milwaukee gallery in 2018 was recovered on Aug. 4 after landlord Tim Dertz found it behind a bedroom door while clearing out an evicted tenant’s apartment.
Dertz, facing about $15,000 in rental losses, had brought in an antiques dealer to search the trash-filled unit; the dealer recognized the dusty black-and-white print as Picasso’s “Torero.”
Police said Dertz called the next morning and turned the work in, later returning it to gallery owner William DeLind, who identified the piece with a jeweler’s loupe and said he was deeply moved.
The aquatint had disappeared from DeLind’s appraisal store eight years earlier, and insurers settled the claim long ago; Milwaukee police said they are now locating the rightful owner.
The Art Loss Register lists Picasso as the world’s most-stolen artist, with more than 1,000 works missing, underscoring the rarity of recovering a long-lost piece.