Pablo Picasso Sketchbook Stolen In Paris

A Pablo Picasso sketchbook has been stolen from the museum in Paris that is named after him, police have said.

The collection of drawings by the legendary Spanish artist is worth about £9m. The sketchbook was taken from the Picasso Museum in the centre of the French capital. Officials discovered the theft this morning, police said.

"A sketchbook of drawings by Pablo Picasso worth about 8m euros ($11m) has been stolen from a museum in Paris, police have said." The theft from the Musée Picasso was discovered today.


PARIS -- A notebook of 33 pencil drawings by Pablo Picasso has been stolen from the Paris museum that bears the painter's name, authorities said Tuesday.

The book is reportedly worth several million euros (dollars).

The theft took place between Monday and Tuesday morning at the Picasso Museum, France's Culture Ministry said. It was discovered Tuesday morning, a police official said anonymously, as police are not authorized to discuss cases publicly.

The stolen sketchbook, shiny red with the word "Album" inscribed in gold on the front, dated from 1917 to 1924, the Culture Ministry statement said. It measured 6.3 inches by 9.5 inches (16 by 24 centimeters) the ministry said.

The Picasso Museum, in Paris' old Marais neighborhood, is dedicated to the Spanish-born painter, a founder of the Cubist movement and leading 20th century artist.

The exact time and how the theft was carried out are not yet known but the sketchbook has been taken from the Picasso Museum. The sketchbook is valued at more than £10million.

The BRB which is a special unit of the interior ministry is in charge of the investigation.

It is likely the theft was carried out between Monday evening and noon on Tuesday.

The initial investigation shows there was no sign of a break-in. This suggests professional art criminals could well be behind the crime.

Alarms in the fortified museum were somehow switched off, and no windows were smashed or doors broken open.

Apparently, the sketchbook, which was once the property of one of the world's best known artists, was kept in an unlocked display case on the first floor.

The museum's management are not yet commenting.have so far refused to comment on the theft.

The Picasso museum is set to close this summer for at least two years for renovation work put at 20m euros.

The museum contains more than 250 paintings and 1,500 drawings by the Spanish artist. t has more than 250 paintings, 160 sculptures and 1,500 drawings by Picasso in a former mansion in the fashionable Marais district.

He is a founder of the Cubist movement and a leading 20th century artist.

Two Picasso paintings worth about £43m were taken from the Paris home of Diana Widmaier-Picasso, the artist's granddaughter, in February 2007.

And four Picasso works stolen from a museum in Sao Paulo, Brazil in June 2008 were recovered undamaged a few weeks later.