A rare Pablo Picasso etching that vanished from a Milwaukee art gallery eight years ago has finally resurfaced - after spending years hanging on a wall inside a home on the city’s south side.
The print, “Torero,” from 1949, is one of just 30 in existence. It was reported stolen from DeLind Fine Art Appraisals in downtown Milwaukee on February 16, 2018. At the time, gallery owner Bill DeLind told WISN 12 News that the etching was worth between $35,000 and $50,000.
After years of false leads and dead ends, DeLind never expected to get a call from the Milwaukee Police Wednesday, saying a community member walked into the District 4 station and returned the artwork. He was able to quickly confirm that it was the stolen print because of a gallery identification sticker still attached to the back.
"It was like, 'Oh my God," DeLind told 12 News Thursday. "I never thought I'd see this again. And there it was."
Police said the Picasso had been hanging inside a home on Milwaukee’s south side. Someone who saw the artwork looked it up, realized it could be the long-missing etching and decided to bring it to police.
The print had apparently been well cared for during the eight years it was missing.
"It was in a frame and it still had the glass in front of it to protect it. It was still perfect. The frame was in good shape so apparently whoever took it hung it on the wall and just left it," DeLind said.
The unexpected recovery was especially emotional for DeLind because of his late business partner, Michael Goforth, who died earlier this year.
"He was so invested in this particular piece. It was an obsession with him that he wanted it back." DeLind told Fox 6.
The return also comes with a legal complication. Criminal charges against the person who allegedly stole the artwork are unlikely because Wisconsin’s six-year statute of limitations for felony theft has expired, the outlet reports.
Police have not identified the person who turned in the Picasso and have declined to provide additional details about how the artwork was recovered, according to Fox 6.
For DeLind, however, getting the etching returned is what matters most.
"I don’t know what kind of hope you can ever expect to have – if this is a 1 in 100, 1 in a thousand or million – so yes, don’t give up hope," DeLind said.
The Picasso’s ownership has also changed since it disappeared. Because the artwork was insured after it was stolen, the insurance company paid the claim and now owns the recovered print. The company had offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to its return in 2018.
At the time, DeLind remained hopeful that the artwork would eventually be found.
"It will turn up. Probably not in our lifetime. But it will turn up," DeLind told Fox 6 in 2018.
Eight years later, he was proven right. DeLind now expects to learn in the coming days whether the insurance company will keep the piece, have him sell it or allow it to remain on display.
