Police are looking for a man who walked into the Weinstein Gallery in San Francisco and took the valuable pencil drawing, thought to be worth £100,000, off the wall and then fled in a taxi. A gallery spokeswoman told the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper that the work was an “original and unique” artwork. It is thought Picasso created Tete de Femme in 1965.
Speaking to the newspaper, police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said: “We’re hoping someone in the public might recognise this piece, if they see someone walking around with it or trying to sell it. We don’t know if the place was targeted or whether this was a random opportunity that this guy took advantage of.” Other artists whose works are still on display at the gallery include Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali and Joan Miro.
Last year five paintings by Picasso, Matisse and other great artists were stolen from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris.
Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano’) about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.
