Rare signed Picasso print stolen from gallery turns up in vacant apartment years later

A signed Pablo Picasso etching stolen from a Wisconsin art gallery nearly a decade ago has been recovered after a Milwaukee landlord turned the artwork in to police, authorities said.

The original 1949 Picasso etching, titled "Torero," was brought into Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) District Four on Aug.

5, after the person who found it suspected it had been stolen, the MPD said.

An authenticator confirmed the next day that it was the same print reported stolen from a Milwaukee art gallery in the 700 block of North Jefferson Street on Feb.

16, 2018, police said.

FBI TRACKS DOWN CENTURIES-OLD CHRISTIAN ARTIFACT IN UNEXPECTED PLACE: 'INCREDIBLY EXCITING' "The Milwaukee Police Department is grateful that this community member recognized the etching print and did the right thing and returned it," the MPD said.

Milwaukee landlord Tim Dertz found the rare print by the renowned Spanish sculptor and painter while cleaning out a Bay View apartment after an eviction, WISN-TV reported .

Picasso died in 1973 at age 91.

"It was kind of in a weird spot hanging on a wall," Dertz told the news station.

He said the artwork appeared to have been there for a long time because it had collected "tons of dust" across the top.

WILT CHAMBERLAIN WARM-UP JACKET BOUGHT FOR $3 AT THRIFT STORE SELLS FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS Dertz showed the print to an antique dealer friend, who recognized it as a Picasso and said he believed it could be the artwork stolen from Bill DeLind’s Milwaukee gallery years earlier, The Associated Press reported .

Dertz then turned the print over to police, who contacted DeLind to examine it.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN STOLEN GOODS RECOVERED AT A USED CAR LOT AFTER ADULT TOY COMPANY PURCHASE DeLind told the AP he immediately recognized the stolen "Torero," which is one of 30 known copies signed by Picasso.

His DeLind Fine Art Appraisals sticker was still attached to the back of the framed artwork.