Art lovers in the Milwaukee region have a reason to rejoice this week as a missing Picasso has finally been recovered. However, the story of how the print was found may be one for the crime buffs out there, since it’s not exactly an open-and-shut case.
It all started back in 2018, when the Washington Times said that a signed 1949 print called “Torero” was stolen. But without any real leads, the crime seemed to fall by the wayside. That is, until a landlord was cleaning out an abandoned apartment recently and discovered a peculiar piece of art hanging on the walls.
Landlord Tim Dertz told WISN-TV about the moment he found the piece, noting that it was hanging behind a door when he discovered it. But after he brought an antique expert to go through the rest of the items the tenant left behind, it was clear that this dusty print was something special.
Now, it’s made its way back to the man who originally owned the piece before it was stolen, giving him closure about the entire ordeal.
The Landlord Said the Painting Was Under a Thick Pile of Dust
In any other circumstance, you wouldn’t expect to find a signed Picasso in such dirty conditions, but that’s exactly how Dertz said he discovered the piece.
“It was in a weird spot kind of hanging on a wall and it looked like it had been there a long, long time because it had collected tons of dust across the top of it,” he recalled to WISN-TV.
Once the appraiser had a look at the painting and told Dertz what he had on his hands, the landlord immediately went online to see what it was worth. That’s when he says he discovered that the print had been stolen from a Milwaukee art gallery back in 2018.
According to the outlet, the piece is only one of 30 prints, making it truly special.
The police have told WISN-TV that while the statute of limitations on these types of crimes is typically just six years, this case is still part of an open investigation.
There’s a Heartwarming Part of This Story
As we mentioned, the print eventually made it back to the original owner, who told ABC News about how he felt getting to see the piece again, since it was stolen from the gallery Bill DeLind owns. “I was overwhelmed,” DeLind said of getting the call from the police department. “I was at a loss for words. It was an overwhelming moment for me.”
And it was a much-needed end to a story that had plagued DeLind’s former business partner, who passed away in February. DeLind said that his partner would call the police every year on the anniversary of the theft in an attempt to keep the case alive.
“He would have been over the moon about this,” DeLind continued. “It was special to him.”
While it’s sad that his partner never got a chance to see the print reunited with the art gallery, it’s nice that DeLind was still alive to have it returned to him, which isn’t something that happens that often. According to the Cultural Economics website, more than 50,000 pieces of art are stolen from around the world each year, and just 10 percent of them are ever recovered. Hopefully, DeLind appreciates just how lucky he got!