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September 7, 2008 7:28:11 AM CDT

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Thieves Nab a Picasso in Museum Heist

Posted Dec 21, 07 8:48 AM CST in Crime & Courts,  World 

(Newser) – Thieves broke into Latin America's foremost museum early yesterday and stole two paintings in a 3-minute heist. They made off with a Picasso portrait and a work by Brazilian painter Candido Portinari from Brazil's São Paulo Museum of Art, the AP reports. The thieves skipped several major works and grabbed only the two canvases, hung far apart, leading police to conclude they were stolen on demand.

Picasso's 1904 Portrait of Suzanne Bloch comes form the artist's blue period and is one of the most valuable works in the museum's collection, while O Lavrador de Café is a key work by Portinari, who also painted murals at the UN in New York. Picasso's painting is worth an estimated $50 million, while Portinari's is worth $5 million.

Source Associated Press

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In this image released by the Sao Paulo Museum of Art is an undated photograph of Pablo Picasso's painting "Portrait of Suzanne Bloch." Thieves broke into the Sao Paulo Museum of Art on Dec. 20, 2007...   (Associated Press)
A hydraulic jack used by thieves to enter the Sao Paulo Museum of Art remains in the museum's door in Sao Paulo, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007. Thieves broke into the Sao Paulo Museum of Art on Dec. 20, 2007...   (Associated Press)
A traffic officer directs traffic in front of The Sao Paulo Museum of Art in Sao Paulo, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007. Thieves broke into the Sao Paulo Museum of Art on Dec. 20, 2007 and made off with Pablo...   (Associated Press)
In this image released by the Sao Paulo Museum of Art is an undated photograph of the painting "O Lavrador de Cafe" by Brazil's artist Candido Portinari. Thieves broke into the Sao Paulo Museum of Art...   (Associated Press)
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Tags

art  • Brazil  • painting  • theft  • art theft  • art heist  • Sao Paulo  • Picasso  • Candido Portinari


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