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In 2018, a Picasso print was stolen in broad daylight from a Milwaukee art gallery, leaving art dealer Bill DeLind convinced that the valuable work was gone for good.
The rare “Torero” print, one of only 30 known to have been signed by Picasso, was valued at upwards of $50,000 (€43,000) at the time. It had been commissioned for sale through DeLind’s gallery.
Eight years later, DeLind received an unexpected call from Milwaukee police asking him to come and identify an artwork that had been recovered. A local landlord, Tim Dertz, had found the framed print while clearing out a vacant apartment belonging to a tenant who had left his belongings after being evicted.
“When they called me, I was in disbelief,” DeLind said. “I was at a loss for words. It was an overwhelming moment for me.”
“It was indeed mine,” he added. “It came back full circle.”
The landlord told local television station WISN that the artwork was hanging in an unusual spot: “It was kind of in a weird spot hanging on a wall.” He added: “It looked like it had been there for a long, long time because it had tons of dust across the top of it.”
After showing it to a friend who worked as an antique dealer, he was told it appeared to be the Picasso that had been reported stolen. It was subsequently handed over to police, who contacted DeLind.
“When it disappeared, it was such a sort of a personal insult. This just made me feel so bad,” DeLind said. “So it was just the opposite when it came back. It’s like, there are good people in the world.”
DeLind said his former business partner, who died in February, was distraught over the theft in 2018 and called police every year on the anniversary of the crime asking that they publicise it again in the hope the Picasso could be found.
“He would have been over the moon about this,” DeLind said. “It was special to him.”
The artwork now remains in possession of Milwaukee police while the client who had commissioned it for sale with his art gallery works it out with his insurance company, DeLind said.