Picasso Paris Art Heist

Two Picasso paintings worth an estimated €50m have been stolen from the Parisian home of one of the painter’s grand-daughters. “Maya à la poupée” was taken from the apartment of Diana Widmaier-Picasso, an art historian, in Paris’s upmarket seventh arrondissement on Monday night. The picture was a 1938 portrait of her mother - Pablo Picasso’s child by Marie-Thérèse Walter - holding a doll. A portrait of the artist’s second wife, Jacqueline Roque, and a drawing were also stolen during the theft, which occurred while two people were sleeping in the apartment. “Maya à la poupée” appeared to have been removed with its frame intact, the other painting had been cut away from its surround. Paris police said on Wednesday that there had been no evidence that the door to the apartment had been forced, adding that they were investigating whether entry had been gained using a false key. Fingerprint and DNA samples were also being analysed. In 1989, seven paintings by Picasso were among a number of works of art stolen from the Cannes villa of Marina Picasso, another grand-daughter of the artist. The lost works, said at the time to be worth $17m, were soon recovered. However, this was a minor incident compared with the theft of 119 Picassos suffered by the Palais des Papes, the former Papal residence in Avignon, in 1976. Again, the stolen artworks were later found. (For full source and article click the Headline). Irish Art