A $50,000 Picasso print vanished from a Milwaukee gallery in 2018. Then a landlord found it hanging in an evicted tenant’s apartment

Bill DeLind said a Picasso print stolen from his Milwaukee gallery in 2018 seemed gone for good until police contacted him last week. He stated that officers asked him to examine an artwork a local landlord had found while clearing out a vacant apartment. DeLind said he immediately recognized the piece as the missing “Torero” print.

The print is one of 30 known examples signed by Pablo Picasso, according to DeLind. He said the sticker from his DeLind Fine Art Appraisals business was still attached to the back of the framed work, just as it had been in 2018. DeLind described the moment as overwhelming and said he was at a loss for words, reports the Daily Mail.

Milwaukee landlord Tim Dertz told WISN-TV that he discovered the print while cleaning an apartment after the previous tenants had been evicted. He said the artwork was hanging on a wall in what he described as a somewhat unusual spot. Dertz added that a thick layer of dust across the top suggested it had remained in place for a long time.

Landlord turns the dusty print over to police after an antique dealer’s recognition

Dertz said he showed the piece to an antique dealer friend. The dealer recognized it as a Picasso and indicated it appeared to match the print DeLind had reported stolen years earlier. Dertz then handed the artwork over to police, who contacted the gallery owner. Such unexpected discoveries can happen in vacated properties, like when a homeowner purchased a neglected house at a foreclosure auction and found something inside days later that forced him to call 911. 

DeLind said he was in disbelief when the call came. “It was indeed mine,” he stated. “It came back full circle.” He told reporters he felt overwhelmed by the recovery. The print had been appraised at between $35,000 and $50,000 when it was taken in 2018. DeLind said he believes its value remains similar today and is likely closer to the higher figure.

In comments to the Associated Press, DeLind described the original theft as a personal insult that left him feeling bad. He said the return of the print brought the opposite emotion. “It’s like, there are good people in the world,” DeLind stated. He added that the landlord and the antique dealer did not have to take the piece to the police station to check it out, yet they chose to do so. “They were good, honest people. The world needs more people like that,” he said.

DeLind also recalled that his former business partner had been saddened by the theft. He said the partner would contact police each year on the anniversary of the disappearance in hopes of keeping the case active. That partner has since died. DeLind said the man would have been delighted by the recovery. “He would be over the moon about this. It was so special to him,” DeLind shared.

Dertz told WISN-TV the print looked as if it had hung in the same place for a long period because of the heavy dust on top. He described finding it during routine cleanup of the empty unit. Police confirmed the artwork matched the one reported stolen from the gallery and arranged its return to DeLind. The recovery of lost items can take unusual turns, as when a New York farmer found an abandoned ATV on his property and cops confirmed it before reportedly asking him to pay for its removal. 

DeLind said the entire sequence of events left him stunned. He noted that nothing had come of the original police report for years after the 2018 theft. The sudden appearance of the print in the vacated apartment and the decision by Dertz and the antique dealer to involve authorities brought the matter to a close.