Landlord Makes Astonishing Discovery in Filthy Vacant Apartment
A routine apartment cleanup following a messy eviction turned into an incredible art recovery when a landlord uncovered a long-lost masterpiece hidden in the filth.
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While assessing $15,000 in rental losses inside a cat urine-soaked unit filled with waist-high trash, Milwaukee property owner Tim Dertz brought in antiques dealer Chad Strack to scout for abandoned valuables.
The pair searched for nearly 20 minutes when, tucked behind a bedroom door, they spotted a dusty framed print signed in green pencil.
“Do you know what that is?” Strack asked. “That’s a Picasso.”
The 1949 aquatint, titled “Torero,” meaning “bullfighter” in Spanish, vanished from the nearby DeLind Fine Art Appraisals in February 2018 without a trace.
William DeLind owned the downtown Milwaukee gallery where the crime occurred.
“I looked around the room and came back to the empty spot,” DeLind said about the day he realized the painting was missing. “It didn’t take me very long to say, ‘Oh my God, it’s gone.’”
An investigation into the painting’s disappearance yielded no answers, despite DeLind’s efforts to reopen the case every year on the anniversary of the crime.
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The piece joined a list of over 1,000 of Picasso’s works that have gone missing over the years, making him the artist with the most stolen pieces.
DeLind, 84, authenticated the piece with his jeweler’s loupe after police called.
“I didn’t cry, but I was very emotional to see it,” DeLind said.
Dertz admitted he spent a sleepless night pacing before surrendering the artwork.
“I didn’t want to handle it anymore,” he said, adding, “It’ll always be great to have a story on how I owned a Picasso for a day.”
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The Milwaukee Police Department commended Dertz for “doing the right thing.”
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