Rare Picasso Watercolor Stolen in 2018 Found Eight Years Later in an Empty Milwaukee Apartment

A rare watercolor by Pablo Picasso, taken from a Milwaukee gallery in 2018, has been found eight years later in an apartment that had been left empty by its owner.

The work was discovered by Tim Dertz, who was cleaning out the apartment and contacted Bill DeLind to show him what he had found. DeLind had believed the watercolor was gone forever.

As soon as he saw it, DeLind identified the work, titled “Torero,” as the stolen watercolor. It is one of 30 known works of its kind bearing Picasso’s signature.

“I was shocked. I was speechless. It was a stunning moment for me,” DeLind said.

The back of the watercolor still bore the adhesive label from DeLind Fine Art Appraisals, which had been placed there in 2018.

“It really was that work,” DeLind said.

The Milwaukee Police Department said in an email Friday that the statute of limitations for theft and property crimes is generally six years. However, the investigation into the case is continuing. Caroline Clancy, a spokesperson for the FBI in Milwaukee, declined to comment.

According to DeLind, the watercolor was valued at between $35,000 and $50,000 in the year it was stolen. He said the work’s price has not risen significantly since then, but its history could now bring its value closer to $50,000.

The work is currently in the custody of Milwaukee police. The client who had consigned it for sale at his gallery is handling the matter through the insurance company, DeLind said.

DeLind’s former business partner, who died in February, had been deeply affected by the 2018 theft. Every year, on the anniversary of the theft, he called the police and asked them to issue the notice about the work again, hoping that the Picasso watercolor would be found.

“He would be very happy about this. It was something special to him,” DeLind said.