Picasso's grandson says stolen drawings will be tracked down
PARIS (AFP) – Pablo Picasso's grandson on Wednesday voiced confidence that a sketchbook of 33 drawings stolen from a Paris museum would be recovered thanks to the Internet and expert police work.
The book of pencil drawings by the Spanish master was taken from an unlocked glass case at the National Picasso Museum in central Paris, where officials discovered it missing on Tuesday morning.
"This work is an important one and belongs in the museum and I don't think that it will be possible to find another place for it," Olivier Widmaier-Picasso told Europe 1 radio.
Widmaier-Picasso said Picasso's works were clearly marked, making them easy to identify and that "cooperation between various police forces makes it very complicated to steal and resell."
Police said the drawings were worth eight million euros (11 million dollars) but Culture Minister Christine Albanel said the value was probably closer to three million euros.
The sketchbook dates from 1917 to 1924 when Picasso was in his late 30s and includes 16 drawings of Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova, whom he married in 1918.
After visiting the museum in Paris' fashionable Marais district, Albanel said the theft probably occurred at night and that the drawings would not be easily sold.
"I don't believe that this collection of sketches has a market value in the sense that they can be easily sold," said Albanel.
An official from the French police force specialised in art theft however told AFP the drawings could fetch several million euros on the market.
"They can find a buyer," he said.
Two paintings stolen from the Paris home of Widmaier-Picasso's sister Diana in February 2007 were recovered after the thieves offered them to a Dutch art dealer who tipped off police, he said.
The grandson said the Internet had become a valuable tool to prevent sales of stolen art.
"The day after the theft, I alerted authorities to make sure pictures of the paintings were released all over the world. In less than 24 hours, more than 1,000 websites had posted the pictures," said Widmaier-Picasso.
He speculated that the sketchbook may have been taken by a kleptomaniac or by a professional art thief hoping to sell it on the private market. But he added that selling the works would be "very complicated."
Police said there were no signs of a break-in and that there was no alarm at the Picasso museum, which houses more than 250 paintings, 160 sculptures and 1,500 drawings by the Spanish artist.
The museum was closed to the public on Tuesday when the theft was discovered although some guests had been invited for a private viewing.
A police source said the theft took place some time between Monday night and early Tuesday and described security at the museum housed in a 17th-century mansion as lax.
The sketchbook with a red leather cover marked with the inscription "Album" in gold lettering was stolen from a first-floor exhibition room.
"It was kept in a closed glass casing that could only have been opened using special tools," the culture ministry said.
Works by Picasso, one of the most important artists of the 20th century, fetch record prices at auctions and are a favourite target of art thieves.
Four Picasso works stolen from a museum in Sao Paulo, Brazil in June 2008 were recovered undamaged a few weeks later.
Born in Malaga, the Spanish painter lived many years in Paris and died in 1973 in the French Riviera village of Mougins.
Picasso's family donated the collection to the state museum to settle the taxes on his estate.
The entire museum is set to close in July for two years of renovation work.
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