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A tall, lanky man wearing a Harley-Davidson shirt walked into Christie’s in Beverly Hills. He said he had a “really ugly” Picasso drawing for sale, claiming he had originally purchased it from a friend.
Noting the man’s odd behavior, the Christie’s employee excused herself and checked a stolen art directory in a back room. She learned the 1937 Picasso drawing entitled Faune was listed as stolen on the LAPD Art Theft Detail website. The $100,000 artwork, originally sold through PaceWildenstein in New York, had been taken during the burglary of a home in West Los Angeles.
Police officers were called to the scene resulting in the arrest of the burglar and the recovery of the Picasso. This also led to the recovery of another $305,000 in art taken during the burglary.
For more information about this case, read The Chauffeur Did It.