French police hold 2 suspects over Picasso theft
Slight damage to works from careless handling, say police
Last Updated: Friday, August 10, 2007 | 2:07 PM ET
CBC Arts
The stolen Picasso artworks French police recovered this week appear to be in good condition, while two of three male suspects arrested in the case remain in police custody, officials said.
The three men, between ages 45 and 60, were arrested on Tuesday and appeared in a Paris courtroom on Thursday.
The two men still in custody are being investigated for the theft of Pablo Picasso works from the luxury Paris apartment of the artist's granddaughter, Diana Widmaier-Picasso, as she slept on the night of Feb. 26. Formal charges against the two are expected to follow.
The third man was described as a "supervised witness."
Police said the suspects were known to authorities, for alleged involvement in similar art thefts.
On Tuesday, a police sting in the 16th arrondissement neighbourhood of Paris resulted in the recovery of the drawing Marie-Thérèse à 21 ans (Marie-Thérèse at age 21), and the two famed canvases Maya à la poupée (Maya with Doll), which depicts Picasso's daughter, and Portrait de femme, Jacqueline, an image of the Spanish artist's second wife.
After receiving a tip several weeks ago from a Belgian art dealer contacted by one of the suspects in order to sell another stolen artwork, police began surveillance on one of the men.
Officers working for the art theft police unit descended on the suspects on Tuesday after the men were observed on the move while carrying cardboard tubes. Upon the arrest, officers discovered the Picasso canvases and the drawing carelessly rolled up inside the tubes. Police officials believe that the suspects were en route to meet a prospective buyer.
The three works appear to be in good condition, despite suffering slight cracking and other damage after being rolled the wrong way and too tightly to fit inside the tubes and apparently from being removed from their frames.
"It is a sign of ignorance and stupidity to do such damage to works of art," Bernard Darties, deputy head of the art theft unit, said this week.
Experts had estimated that the two canvases alone would be worth more than $60 million US. Also, as the paintings were so well known, the stolen works would have been impossible to sell on the open market.
Police also said they believed the suspects were preparing to sell the Picassos along with a haul of other stolen works to a unknown buyer for well below the market value of the art.
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