A stolen Picasso painting that had been missing for more than 10 years was discovered in New York after being shipped in a package labeled “art craft/toy.” The painting was in a parcel that was marked “Joyeux Noel” which is French for “Merry Christmas,” according to the New York Times.
It arrived in Newark from Belgium in a FedEx shipment during the holiday season. When it was shipped, the painting was only worth $37.
The painting first went missing in France. When it was examined by American custom officers, they said that Picasso’s cubist painting was worth $2.5 million.U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch filed a civil forfeiture complaint on Thursday over the painting.
Authorities said the 1991 cubist called La Coiffeuse (The Hairdresser) vanished from a storeroom in the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Picasso’s painting was reported as stolen in 2001, according to the Huffington Post.
The French government owns Picasso’s oil painting; it was bequeathed by a former director to the National Museums of France. It was last exhibited in Munich in 1998, and then it was stored in Pompidou where officials thought the painting would be safe.
But for nearly 13 years, the location of the painting was lost to all. Lynch plans to get the painting back to France.
The New York Times reported that on Dec. 17, someone named “Robert” with a Belgium address was responsible for shipping the package to a climate-controlled warehouse in Long Island City. The following day, the painting showed up in Newark and was seized. Federal law states that imported merchandise that has been smuggled or stolen can be seized by the government.
French museum officials came to New York to examine the painting last month. Using historical photographs and records, they confirmed that it was indeed Picasso’s painting. There has not been any information released on whether anyone connected to shipping has been arrested.
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