Hung on the wall for eight years: stolen Picasso engraving found in the US

In the US, while cleaning an apartment, they accidentally found a Pablo Picasso engraving that had been stolen from a gallery back in 2018. All this time, the work, worth about $50,000, had simply been hanging on the wall.

This is reported by the Associated Press.

Milwaukee apartment owner Tim Dertz made the unusual discovery. He was cleaning out his apartment after a tenant was evicted when he noticed a painting hanging on the wall in a strange location.

According to the man, a lot of dust had accumulated at work, so it looked like no one had touched it for a very long time.

Dertz decided to show the find to an antique dealer he knew. He recognized the work as a Picasso and suggested that it might be the engraving that had been stolen from a local gallery eight years earlier.

The apartment owner then turned the case over to the police. Law enforcement officers contacted Bill DeLinde, the owner of the gallery from which the print disappeared in 2018.

DeLind immediately recognized “Torero.” There was even a sticker on the back from his gallery, which had been attached to the work before it was stolen.

“Torero” is one of approximately 30 known prints of this type signed by Picasso.

In 2018, its value was estimated at $35,000-$50,000. According to DeLinde, the work’s current price could be around $50,000, partly due to the unusual history of its disappearance and return.