Stolen Picasso, Mondrian works recovered in Greece

ATHENS

Two paintings by eminent artists Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondrian have been found by Greek police nearly a decade after they were stolen from a gallery in Athens, authorities announced on Tuesday.

The Spanish master’s “Head of a Woman” and Mondrian’s “Stammer Windmill” were stolen from the National Gallery in Athens in 2012, according to a police statement.

The artworks were hidden at a gorge in Keratea in East Attica and one suspect has been arrested in connection with the theft, the police said.

A third work – a pen and sepia sketch on paper by Italian artist Guglielmo Caccia – was also found but in damaged condition, the statement added.

Addressing a news conference, Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis said there is “intense joy” in Greece as Picasso had dedicated this particular painting to “our country and the Greek people.”

Picasso donated the painting to Greece in 1949 to honor the Greek resistance against German occupation during World War II.

Dutch artist Mondrian’s work from 1905 was bought in 1963 by Greek collector Alexandros Pappas and later donated to the National Gallery.