"La Coiffeuse" by Pablo Picasso, 1911 (Photo : Twitter/CBC News)
A Picasso painting reported stolen from s storeroom in Paris over a decade ago has now been found in New York on Thursday. The painting will be returned to the French government in no time, the US officials said.
It is said that the century-old oil painting was smuggled into the United States from Belgium December last year. Attached with the craft was a shipping label describing the content as a 30-euro worth handicraft Christmas present.
According to CNN, the federal officials said that the painting, known as "La Coiffeuse" or "The Hairdresser" was missing for almost more than a decade and is worth millions of dollars.
It was the US customs who had seen the stolen painting and later, it was seized by Homeland Security Investigations.
"A lost treasure has been found," eastern district of New York attorney Loretta Lynch said.
Following the confiscation of the said painting, Lynch said that the United Stated would be penalized accordingly due to the blatant smuggling. She added, "Forfeiture of the painting will extract it from the grasp of the black market in stolen art so that it can be returned to its rightful owner."
"La Coiffeuse" was painted in 1911-an oil-on-canvas that measures 33 by 46 centimeters. It is a part of Musee National d'Art Moderne collection in Paris.
Before it was stolen, the painting was last seen publicly in Munich, Germany. There, it was on loan to the Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung.
After it was exhibited, it was returned to Paris where it was placed in one of the storerooms of the Centre George Pompidou. The officials only discovered that the painting was missing in 2001 when a loan request came through and it was nowhere to be found.
Deputy Special Agent in Charge Anthony Scandiffio said that the recovery of the missing treasure shows a strong message that the market in the United States where stolen antiquities are sold is drying up.
On the other hand, Lynch did not mention the name of the person who shipped the painting in December, according to the news release.
