Art sleuth recovers stolen Picasso

A Dutch art detective has recovered a valuable painting by Pablo Picasso 20 years after it was stolen from a wealthy Saudi’s yacht in France.

Arthur Brand took possession two weeks ago of the 1938 painting Buste de Femme after trailing it for years in Amsterdam.

Brand,arenownedsleuth whose previous finds include a pair of bronze horses sculpted for Adolf Hitler, handed over the painting to an insurance company. He said he knew it was the real thing as soon as he peeled away two plastic bags covering the canvas. “You know it’s a Picasso because there is some magic coming off it,” he said.

Martin Finkelnberg, of the Dutch national police’s art and antique criminality team, welcomed the recovery. No arrests have been made.