Missing Picasso Found Behind Door 8 Years Later

Timothy Dertz spotted something odd when his Milwaukee tenant moved out: a dusty print of a bullfighter hanging in a back bedroom behind a door.

The landlord knew the strange placement meant something. When he asked an antique dealer for advice, they discovered a green crayon signature that read "Picasso."

It turned out to be Torero, a 1949 etching by Pablo Picasso worth up to $50,000. The artwork had vanished from DeLind Fine Art Appraisals eight years earlier when someone walked in during business hours, lifted it off the wall, and walked out unnoticed.

"I never expected to see it again," gallery co-owner Bill DeLind told reporters. "The fact that it would turn up eight years later in perfect condition is just jaw-dropping."

The theft had devastated the small gallery owners, who had no working security cameras at the time. Bill DeLind saw the piece that morning in 2018, but his business partner Michael Goforth noticed it missing just hours later.

The gallery offered rewards climbing from $5,000 to $10,000. Every year on the theft's anniversary, the owners contacted police and media, refusing to let the case go cold.

Dertz spent a sleepless night "freaking out" about his accidental involvement before turning the artwork over to Milwaukee police the next morning. Authorities praised him for doing the right thing.

Sunny's Take

This story reminds us that honest people still outnumber thieves. Dertz could have quietly sold the Picasso or kept it hidden, but he chose integrity instead. His decision brought closure to gallery owners who spent nearly a decade hoping their beloved artwork would return. Sometimes doing the right thing means a sleepless night of worry, but it always means being able to look yourself in the mirror the next morning.

DeLind hopes to hang Torero in the gallery again, even briefly, so the community can celebrate its homecoming.