Could an American Pub Hold the Secret to Catching a Picasso Thief?
- Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:17am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The proprietors of a San Francisco restaurant said Wednesday they have surveillance footage of a sockless thief who snatched a valuable Picasso drawing off an art gallery wall.
Lefty O‘Doul’s released images showing a man walking on a sidewalk carrying a framed artwork under his arm:
The restaurant is just a few doors down from the Weinstein Gallery, where police say a man stole a Picasso drawing late Tuesday morning before fleeing in a waiting taxi:
Gallery President Rowland Weinstein told the San Francisco Chronicle that the piece, a 1965 pencil-on-paper drawing titled “Tete de Femme,” was purchased at auction this spring for $122,500 and had been part of a collection belonging to Picasso’s driver.
The man in the video is dressed similarly to a police description of the suspect.
Police say he was a well-dressed man in his 30s wearing a dark jacket and pants, large dark glasses and loafers with no socks.
The theft left an empty space on the gallery’s wall amid similarly valuable works by other modern masters, including Marc Chagall, Joan Miro and Salvador Dali.
Art experts said the publicity surrounding the theft would make it difficult for the thief to sell the painting without attracting notice. Police are hoping art collectors and dealers might spot the piece and alert law enforcement.
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garyswine
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:48pmHe is an Hispanic male. I’ve confronted him face to face in our parking lot.
Report Post »ying
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:38pmBelieve me, Weinstein was in on it. It was an inside job. This is the same thing jews did in Germany before Hitler reigned, destroying European artwork, and replacing it with “modern” junk. Yes, “modern” means ‘in with the new, out with the old’.
Report Post »garyswine
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:31pmThis mutt was in one of our stores in May on two occasions. He stole three bottles of high end wine valued at 6000.00. It was only due to our extensive video surveillance system that we got to identify him and charge him. He was a no-show in court and there is a warrant out for him in NJ. However, this pales in comparison to the Picasso caper and I don’t expect to see him in NJ for quite some time.
Report Post »Pontiac
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 1:52amIf anyone else drew that you couldn’t get a dollar out of it. Talk about over-hyped.
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 4:14pmCaught. Painting recovered from his hotel room. Fox News.
Report Post »miles from nowhere
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 2:23pmYou can learn a lot in a pub after a few drinks.
Report Post »tommy_pete
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 9:44amAmen to that……
Report Post »rpp
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 2:04pmJust to make sure I understand, that third image above was a police sketch of the alleged thief, right?
Report Post »romadave
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 1:37pmPicasso might have done some wonderful work, but there is a reason he left this one in the garage and his driver took it from his estate.
It looks like this ‘head of a female’ could use a shave. And anyone calling Seinfeld ‘Man Hands’ on this babe?
I’m not an art expert, but this piece does not move me. At least this idiot liked it enough to steal it.
Report Post »det45
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 12:34pmBig ass balls……
Report Post »Drum Man
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 12:51pmSmall Brain though…
Report Post »Gas137
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 12:03pmNo matter what you do, someone is always watching.
Report Post »cranberry
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:53amOh i can hardly wait until they catch this guy.. he is taking that picture away from all of us. I hope they lock him up for years.
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:50amHmmm…
Not saying THIS is, but…
Could terrorists be planning to use non-traditional attacks that include things like theft? Robberies? Inciting riots? Increases in drug availabitlity to kids? etc?
Worth thinking about!
Report Post »arvadadan
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 4:03pmNo……
Report Post »Dumpster Baby
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:45am@NJTMATO: Yes, because after all having art in your home is something that only happens in San Francisco.
Report Post »NJTMATO
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 12:01pm@ Dumpster…..point well taken….should have been a bit more clear with my post….my meaning is that perhaps he just wants the painting for himself, in his SF home instead of selling it for mere $. The reference to SanFrancisco is definitely a slam because I find SF rather fond of telling everyone what they can and cannot do, yet this criminal can just walk out of a bar with a Picasso and no one notices? Maybe one of their harbored illegals is decorating.
Report Post »NJTMATO
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:43amMaybe he just wants to hang it in his living room…..after all, it IS SanFrancisco
Report Post »TheDebtWeAllPay
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:41amthey will catch him b4 to long
Report Post »astrog999
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:40amI bought a Shegall at the thrift store for $5.00 and I will have a better chance of making a profit than this guy. At $112,000.00 it is not worth anyone buying. The reward for turning the guy in is worth more. I bet he destroys it an moves on.
Report Post »Eric_The_Red_State
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:39amHe looks like he is of ….. how shall I say this without sounding racist …….. middle Eastern descent.
So this could already be in the hands of some (gulp) Terrorist group!
Waidaminute……. I know who that is…….. that’s……. Yeah……….
That’s Justin Beiber!!
Report Post »ying
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:42pmHe’s jewish. Notice the protruding ‘snoot’, the lower part of the facial bones….elongaged face, flattened head crown. This is not a middle easterner, it’s a jew. It’s an inside job, and the gallery president Weinstein is in on it. He isn’t going to attempt to sell the art; the idea is to destroy European art and eventually replace it with ‘their’ art, which is called ‘modern’ and is just paint splashed on a canvas (because they have no art sense).
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:36amHe walked in, got the picture and just walked out with it under his arm, while missing a sock? Does this fall into the category of ‘clueless yet lucky’?
Report Post »Best Username Ever
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:36amIt’s Thomas Crown. Get him.
Report Post »G man
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:31amDamn…almost got away with it.
Report Post »G man
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:35amNot that I’m condoning this…but as an art lover I have more than once felt compelled to just take a painting off an art gallery wall and go home. I would choose a Modigliani if I were a criminal. Needless to say, for this reason, I will never have a Modigliani.
Report Post »oneeyedfiona
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 12:26pmYou have excellent taste. I lost my breath in front of a Modigliani, sadly I don’t see one hanging in my living room anytime soon either. :-)
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:46amSan Francisco has hated everything I like and loved everything I hate.
Report Post »Why would I want to help them?
banjarmon
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 12:00pmWhen they catch him I hope they make his face look like the painting.
Report Post »fluffdog
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 2:58pmI can’t even spell Mogalianianiini.
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