US returns $15 million Picasso painting stolen from France

Pablo Picasso's "La Coiffeuse," seen in a protective plastic cover, is displayed at the French Embassy in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement returned the stolen painting, valued at $15 million, that was stolen in 1998 and was seized in December 2014. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Pablo Picasso's "La Coiffeuse," seen in a protective plastic cover, is displayed at the French Embassy in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement returned the stolen painting, valued at $15 million, that was stolen in 1998 and was seized in December 2014. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

By Associated Press August 13, 2015 2 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. government on Thursday formally returned a painting by Pablo Picasso valued at $15 million that had been stolen from a Paris museum more than a decade ago and seized by immigration officials late last year in New Jersey.

During a ceremony at the French Embassy, Sarah Saldaña, director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, officially repatriated the abstract artwork, titled “La Coiffeuse” or “The Hairdresser.” It was signed over to Frédéric Doré, the Embassy of France’s deputy chief of mission.

“There’s a tremendous feeling of accomplishment when we return a piece of art like this,” Saldaña said.

The painting was on its way from Belgium to the New York borough of Queens when it was identified and seized in Newark, New Jersey.

Kelly Currie, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said the package aroused suspicion because it was heading for a climate-controlled storage facility – a peculiar destination for a package carrying French words suggesting it contained a $37 Christmas gift.