Stolen Picasso Etching Found in Vacant Milwaukee Apartment

A Pablo Picasso etching stolen from a Milwaukee art gallery in 2018 has been recovered after a local landlord discovered it hanging in a vacant apartment, closing an eight-year chapter in one of the city’s most puzzling art thefts. The artwork, “Torero” (1949), one of only 30 signed copies known to exist, was turned in to police on August 5 after being found during an eviction cleanup.

The Recovery

Milwaukee landlord Tim Dertz found the print while cleaning out an apartment of a tenant who had been evicted. “It was kind of in a weird spot hanging on a wall,” Dertz told WISN-TV, as reported by AP News. “It looked like it had been there for a long, long time because it had tons of dust across the top of it.”

Hoping to offset lost rent by flipping the property, Dertz hired antiquities dealer Chad Strack to comb the apartment for valuables. Strack identified the framed work in a back bedroom as the stolen Picasso print, and Dertz promptly handed it over to the Milwaukee Police Department’s District Four station.

An authenticator confirmed on August 6 that the artwork was indeed the same etching stolen from DeLind Fine Art Appraisals LLC on February 16, 2018. The sticker from the gallery was still on the back of the framed print, exactly as it had been placed there eight years earlier.

A Long-Awaited Reunion

For gallery owner Bill DeLind, the phone call from police brought an end to years of uncertainty. “I was overwhelmed,” DeLind said. “I was at a loss for words. It was an overwhelming moment for me.” He added, “It was indeed mine. It came back full circle.”

The etching, which depicts the intense visage of a bullfighter in characteristic black and white swirls, was at the gallery on consignment when it vanished between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the day of the theft. DeLind and his business partner Michael Goforth were upstairs when the artwork disappeared. The gallery had no security cameras, and DeLind noted that someone could have walked in the unlocked door unnoticed, as Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported at the time.

“It just walked off the wall,” DeLind told the Journal Sentinel in 2018.

Years of Searching

Following the theft, DeLind notified nearby art appraisers, museums, and galleries across the country. A year later, authorities offered a $10,000 reward for information about the artwork’s whereabouts, but the reward expired in May 2019 without producing leads.

Goforth, DeLind’s business partner and co-owner of the gallery, remained determined throughout the years. He called police every year on the anniversary of the theft, asking them to publicize the case in hopes the Picasso could be found. Goforth died in February 2026, just months before the artwork’s recovery.

“He would have been over the moon about this,” DeLind said. “It was special to him.”

Legal and Insurance Questions

The Milwaukee Police Department said the statute of limitations for theft and property crimes is generally six years, but the case remains under investigation. Detectives have not revealed how or why the evicted tenant had the print or whether that resident was involved in the original theft.

The artwork remains in the possession of Milwaukee police while the client who had commissioned it for sale works with their insurance company, DeLind said. Typically, if an item is stolen or lost and claimed and compensated by an insurance carrier, the holder of the policy has to pay back money they received.

Value and Significance

At the time of the theft, “Torero” was appraised at between $35,000 and $50,000. DeLind estimated the value hasn’t changed much since then, though he noted that given its story of theft and recovery, it may now be worth closer to $50,000. The etching is an aquatint printed in ink on rice paper, signed by Picasso in green crayon in the lower right corner.

“This is a baby,” DeLind told Artforum. “This was a very personal affront when it was taken, and now it’s very personal coming back.”

The Milwaukee Police Department praised the community member who recognized the artwork. “The Milwaukee Police Department is grateful that this community member recognized the etching print and did the right thing and returned it,” the department said in a statement, as reported by The Guardian. “We are better together.”

What’s Next

As the investigation continues, DeLind remains hopeful about the artwork’s future. “I don’t know what kind of hope you can ever expect to have — if this is a 1 in 100, 1 in a thousand or million — so yes, don’t give up hope,” he told Washington Times.

The recovery serves as a reminder that even seemingly lost treasures can resurface in the most unexpected places — and that persistence, patience, and a vigilant community can bring closure to cases that seem destined to remain unsolved.