Stolen Picasso Print Recovered After Eight Years in Abandoned Milwaukee Apartment

An abandoned apartment in Milwaukee held a secret that took eight long years to surface: a stolen Picasso print. The 'Torero,' one of only 30 signed by Pablo Picasso, was found after being ripped from Bill DeLind's gallery back in 2018. It sat there until Tim Dertz, the landlord, stumbled upon it while clearing out an evicted tenant's place.

Dertz told WISN he spotted the artwork tucked away in a back bedroom behind a closed door. That was no ordinary hiding spot for fine art. The print hung on the wall and looked like it had been waiting for years because dust covered the top of it completely. Even better, it still bore the DeLind Fine Art Appraisals sticker on its back.

'I was overwhelmed,' DeLind said on Friday. 'I was at a loss for words. It was an overwhelming moment for me.' He added simply, 'It was indeed mine. It came back full circle.'

The theft happened when the piece was valued between $35,000 and $50,000 while sitting on consignment. Dertz showed the dusty relic to a friend who deals in antiques. That friend recognized it immediately as the Picasso DeLind reported missing eight years prior. Police took custody of the print right then and contacted the art appraiser to verify everything.

'When they called me, I was in disbelief,' DeLind admitted. He noted that his former business partner, Michael Goforth, had passed away in February but would have been over the moon about this discovery. Goforth fell apart during the theft and called police every single year hoping to find it again. 'He would have been over the moon about this,' DeLind said. 'It was special to him.'

The artwork remains with the Milwaukee Police Department while the client who commissioned its sale sorts out matters with his insurance company. DeLind explained that losing the piece felt like a very personal affront at the time, and now seeing it return makes it feel even more personal.

Milwaukee Police told The Associated Press on Friday that the statute of limitations for theft usually runs about six years, yet this case is still under active investigation. The Daily Mail reached out to the department for comment, but the story stands as a rare victory where dust and time failed the thief but not the art's rightful owner.