PICASSO STOLEN

Pablo Picasso's Tete de Femme was stolen
from the Weinstein Gallery in San Francisco 

A thief has stolen a $200,000 Pablo Picasso from the Weinstein Gallery on Geary Street in San Francisco.

The pencil drawing, titled Tête de Femme - Head of a Woman was stolen in the middle of the day and the thief A well-dressed man wearing dark glasses escaped in a waiting taxi.

Police are  appealing to the public for help in catching the crook. Police spokesman Albie Esparza told the San Francisco Chronicle: 'We're hoping someone in the public might recognize this piece, if they see someone walking around with it or trying to sell it.' He described the subject as a 30-to-35-year-old male who is about six feet tall, wearing 'a dark jacket, white shirt, dark pants and loafers without socks'.

Gallery President Rowland Weinstein said the stolen piece was part of a collection that Picasso had given to his driver but the gallery has been showing it since May. Though the piece was insured, Mr Weinstein said he is more worried about preserving it: 'My greatest fear is that, with all this attention on it, the person will realize it's unsellable and will dispose of it in a less-than-proper manner.' The drawing is only about the size of a standard piece of paper so was easy for the thief to steal.’

Picasso did many works titled Tête de Femme. Sharon Flescher, an art historian who heads the International Foundation for Art Research, a non-profit that deals with issues of art authenticity said about the theft: 'Picasso is one of the artists whose works are most stolen and most faked. That's because of the name recognition of Picasso - everyone has heard of Picasso.' She also said it will not be easy to sell, due to the publicity surrounding the theft.

In a Post script to this story Mark Lugo 31 from New Jersey  is being held on grand theft burglary and drug charges. He denies the charges. The artwork has been found stripped from its frame but otherwise undamaged.