Stolen Picasso Turns Up in Milwaukee Apartment After 8 Years

Roughly eight years after a Pablo Picasso painting was stolen from a Milwaukee art gallery, it turned up in a place that virtually no one would have thought to look. The stolen art was hanging on the wall of a vacant apartment. The recovered artwork wasn’t found by detectives or art experts. Instead, landlord Tim Dertz was cleaning out an apartment after evicting a tenant. The unit was in rough shape, with trash and empty pizza boxes scattered around and a strong smell of cat urine. Dertz was mainly concerned with cleaning up the mess and recovering some of the money he had lost on the rental.

During the cleanout, Dertz noticed a dusty picture frame tucked behind the door of an extra bedroom. Dertz, who wasn’t aware that he had stumbled across a stolen Picasso, showed it to a friend who is an antiques dealer, Chad Strack. Upon closer examination, Strack noticed the Picasso signature. Strack eventually figured out that the painting was Picasso’s “Torero,” a piece that depicts a bullfighter, which had been reported stolen from a Milwaukee art gallery in 2018.

Missing Artwork Finally Had Been Found

The story of the Milwaukee art theft began on February 16, 2018, at DeLind Fine Art Appraisals in downtown Milwaukee. The etching had been placed in the gallery on consignment, where it was available for sale. Someone walked into the gallery, removed the Picasso painting from the wall, and walked out with it. There was no dramatic heist, elaborate disguise, or smashed display case. According to gallery owner William DeLind, the theft happened in the middle of the day, and nobody at the business noticed it happening.

DeLind told investigators that he noticed the piece hanging on the wall that morning, but by that afternoon, it was gone. The gallery reported the theft as soon as they noticed it, but the investigation failed to identify a suspect. The owners offered a reward that increased from $5,000 to $7,500, and eventually to $10,000. However, no one came forward with any information about the stolen Picasso.

The Painting Appears to Have Been There for Years

One of the strangest details of the story is how ordinary the artwork looked when Dertz found it. It wasn't hidden inside a safe or buried beneath the floorboards. Instead, it was simply hanging on a wall like any other piece of artwork would be.

Dertz told local television station WISN that the print was in an unusual location behind the bedroom door and had accumulated a substantial amount of dust, suggesting it had been hanging there for quite some time. The frame still carried the sticker from DeLind's gallery, a small detail that would eventually help connect the artwork to its past. Dertz had no idea that he had found a piece of stolen art, but his discovery eventually led to an incredible phone call.

The Painting is an Unusual Picasso

Picasso’s “Torero” is not one of his most popular pieces, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a genuine work by one of the most famous artists in history. Picasso created the etching in 1949, and the image depicts a bullfighter, a subject that appeared repeatedly throughout his career. The work was made using a sugar-lift etching process at the Mourlot Studio in Paris and printed on Japanese paper.

The recovered artwork is incredibly scarce, which makes it even more valuable. It is the ninth print in a series of 30, and only 30 signed examples are known to exist. When it was stolen, it was valued somewhere between $35,000 and $50,000. However, some art experts believe that the unique story surrounding the piece found in the abandoned apartment may increase its value.

Picasso’s Long History of Stolen Artwork

According to the Art Loss Register, Picasso is the world's most-stolen artist, with more than 1,000 of his works still listed as missing. His enormous body of work, international reputation, and high prices make his pieces particularly attractive to thieves.

Many of Picasso’s missing works have resurfaced years after they were stolen, often when someone tries to sell them. That fact explains why stolen art is difficult to move. A buyer, dealer, or auction house performing even a basic provenance check may discover that a seemingly valuable artwork has a history that someone would rather keep hidden.

As for Dertz, once he learned the story of the recovered artwork, he notified police and returned the Picasso to its rightful owners.

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