Picasso stolen 20 years ago recovered by Dutch art detective

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

Arthur Brand said Tuesday that he took possession two weeks ago of the 1938 painting “Buste de Femme” after trailing it for years in Amsterdam.

Brand, a renowned sleuth whose previous finds include a pair of bronze horses sculpted for Adolf Hitler, has since handed over the painting, which he estimates to be worth some 25 million euros ($28 million), to an insurance company.

Brand says he knew it was the real thing as soon as he got his hands on it.

He says, “you know it’s a Picasso because there is some magic coming off it.”