Bill DeLind thought the Picasso print that was stolen from his Milwaukee gallery in 2018 was gone forever. But then police called...

Bill DeLind thought the Picasso print that was stolen from his Milwaukee gallery in 2018 was gone forever. But then police called last week and asked him to look at an artwork that a local landlord found while cleaning out a vacant apartment. DeLind immediately recognized the stolen Torero print, one of 30 known to exist signed by Picasso. The Milwaukee police department said in an email on Friday that the statute of limitations for theft and property crimes is generally six years but the case remains under investigation. Caroline Clancy, a spokesperson for the FBI in Milwaukee, declined to comment. The year it was stolen the piece was appraised at between $35,000 and $50,000, DeLind said. He guessed that the value hasn’t changed much since then, but now given its story it may be worth closer to $50,000. The artwork 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. 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 publicize 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.” https://lnkd.in/gJjEn-jE