A Picasso oil painting valued at $15m (£10m), that was stolen from a Paris museum 14 years ago has been returned by US authorities. The painting titled, La Coiffeuse (The Hairdresser) is considered a cubist masterpiece from Picasso’s most important period.
Created in 1911 the canvas was found in a shipment from Belgium to Newark, New Jersey, in December 2014.
The customs form described it as ‘handicraft’ with a declared worth of $37. It was handed over to the French embassy in Washington by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
“We’re so glad that it’s going to be shown to the world again,” stated the agency’s director, Sarah Saldana. The painting was last seen on public display in Munich, Germany, in 1988.
It was then returned to Paris’ Centre Georges Pompidou. The museum had reported it stolen from its archives in 2001. Experts from the museum authenticated the painting as by Picasso, earlier this year.