Explore the Theft of this artwork.
On 20 December 2007, the painting was stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art. Around five o'clock in the morning, three men broke into the museum and stole Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch and Candido Portinari's O lavrador de café from the museum collection; the perpetrators were able to carry out the robbery in just three minutes, using a hydraulic jack and a crowbar. The estimated value of both artworks combined was US$55 million, with the portrait alone valued at US$50 million.The paintings, which are listed as part of the Brazilian National Heritage by IPHAN, remained missing until 8 January 2008, when they were recovered in Ferraz de Vasconcelos by the Police of São Paulo, who also arrested two suspects. The paintings were returned, undamaged, to the São Paulo Museum of Art. The incident was described as "a major embarrassment" for the museum, which was not only forced to admit that they "had no alarm system and no sensors", but that its entire collection "was not insured".
Portrait Police of São Paulo São Paulo São Paulo Museum of Art Ferraz de Vasconcelos Candido Portinari Suzanne Bloch Picasso portrait