Stolen Matisse Recovered by FBI in Miami
- July 22, 2012 22:04
A painting by Henri Matisse stolen from a Venezuelan art museum in 2002 was recovered during a FBI sting at a Miami Beach hotel.
Valued at $3 million, Matisse's "Odalisque in Red Pants" turned up when undercover FBI agents went to purchase the painting from Pedro Antonio Marcuello Guzman, 46, of Miami, and Maria Martha Elisa Ornelas Lazo, 50, of Mexico City, CNN reports.
The sellers are charged with transporting and possessing stolen property.
They had asked $1.5 million for the pilfered artwork.
![Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.](/images/c/e2/2e/Jan20_Rape_of_Europa100x100_c.jpg "Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.")
