Picasso drawing stolen from Weinstein gallery in San Francisco

A well-dressed man in sunglasses did not attract any attention when he walked to the Weinstein Gallery in San Francisco. And he soon left, taking with him a drawing of Pablo Picasso, which is estimated at more than $ 200,000. The man got into a taxi and drove off in an unknown direction, San Francisco police said. Police turned to American art connoisseurs for help in investigating this incident, in case an attempt is made to sell the painting.

The stolen work - “Tete de Femme” (“Woman’s Head”, 1965) is an ordinary album sheet of paper of standard size (27x20 cm). Pablo Picasso once gave it to his driver, Maurice Bresnu, and this spring the painting was sold at auction for $ 122,500.

In connection with this unpleasant incident, Weinstein Gallery will strengthen security measures, which until then were practically absent, which led to the possibility of such theft.

Sharon Flescher, head of the International Foundation for Art Research, said the stolen art would not be easy to sell. History has already become public knowledge and none of the legitimate collectors will take such a step.

Roland Weinstein, owner of the gallery, agrees with this: "My biggest fears are that, realizing the impossibility of selling the stolen work, this person will not handle it properly," he said in an interview with The San Francisco Chronicle.

Police know the name of the taxi company in which the criminal hid. The driver is already giving testimony, the pictures taken by the camera installed by the driver were taken from the car for examination.

The San Francisco Chronicle also publishes a shot taken by the surveillance camera of Lefty O’Doul’s restaurant, located next to Weinstein Gallery:

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