Police Recover Stolen Paintings Worth $55 Million, Make Arrests

Jan 09, 07:33 AM

The Associated Press

SAO PAULO, Brazil

Brazilian police recovered paintings by Pablo Picasso and Candido Portinari that were stolen last month from the country's premier modern art museum, officials said Tuesday .

Two suspects were arrested with the paintings, but no other details were immediately available, said Rosa Maria da Costa, a spokeswoman with the Sao Paulo state public safety office.

Armed with nothing more than a crow bar and a car jack, thieves took just three minutes to steal Picasso's "Portrait of Suzanne Bloch" and Portinari's " O Lavrador de Cafe" from the Sao Paulo Museum of Art on Dec. 20.

The Picasso painting was valued by art experts at about $50 million, and the Portinari at $5 million to $6 million.

None of the museum's 8,000 works of art are insured. A local newspaper reported the museum's collection is worth more than $1 billion.