'Indiana Jones of art' recovers $28 million Picasso stolen 20 years ago

Ryan W. Miller
Updated
Dutch art sleuth Arthur Brand says he recovered "Buste de Femme," a rare work by Pablo Picasso, after it had been missing for 20 years.

An art investigator dubbed the "Indiana Jones of the art world" recovered a Pablo Picasso painting stolen 20 years ago, news reports say.

Dutch art sleuth Arthur Brand told The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse that he had been tracking the rare 1938 "Buste de Femme" for years and recently turned it over to an insurance company after it arrived at his door.

The work – a portrait of Dora Maar, who was depicted in multiple Picasso paintings – is worth roughly $28 million, Brand estimates. Maar, an artist herself, photographed the progression of Picasso's masterpiece "Guernica" in 1937.

The painting was originally stolen in 1999 from a wealthy Saudi’s yacht in France, but earlier this month, Brand got word that it was in the Netherlands.

"They told me, ‘It’s in the hands of a businessman who got it as payment, and he doesn’t know what to do with it,’" Brand told the New York Times. "I talked to the two guys and we made a plan to get it out of his hands."

'Priceless': Stolen Van Gogh paintings found 14 years later

Brand told the AFP that the art had likely changed hands at least 10 times since it was stolen and may have been used in drug and arms deals.

It ultimately landed in Brand's possession after the businessman's contacts dropped it off at his door.

“You know it’s a Picasso because there is some magic coming off it,” he told the AP. Brand also told the new agency he believes it's real because of how the back of the canvas looks.

"A forger never knows how the back looks,” Brand told the AP, but withholding what was there. "When I saw the back of the painting, I knew it was the real one."

Brand hung the painting on his wall for a night ("The urge was too great; I couldn’t resist," he told the Times) before a Picasso expert and representative of an insurance company arrived the next day to inspect it.

Who stole the $100M masterpiece? Clues emerge in year since recovery of Willem de Kooning painting

Dick Ellis, a retired Scotland Yard investigator who founded its art and antiquities division and was representing the insurance company, says he believes the work is legitimate.

"There is no doubt that this is the stolen Picasso," Ellis told the AFP.

It's not clear what's next for the artwork or where it will go. Dutch police have not made any arrests, the AP reported.

Brand, who has already recovered bronze horses sculpted for Adolf Hitler and a 1,600-year-old mosaic in his career, can add another find to his list. He told the Times he's not looking for a reward, either.

"My reward was to have a Picasso on my wall for one night," he said. "I can tell you, it was great."

Contributing: The Associated Press.

Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Indiana Jones of art' recovers $28 million Picasso stolen 20 years ago