U.S. authorities recover stolen Rembrandt

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― U.S. authorities have recovered a 17th century sketch by Dutch master Rembrandt, snatched over the weekend from a private art display at a luxury California hotel while a curator was momentarily distracted by someone who seemed interested in buying another piece.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department did not release further details Tuesday on the recovery of the drawing ― called “The Judgment”― and Associated Press calls for comment were not immediately returned.

The theft was a low-tech caper involving a distraction, an accomplice or two and a small sketch ― an 11- by 6-inch drawing.

“When the curator turned back to the Rembrandt, it was gone,” Los Angeles County sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said. It was not clear whether the person talking to the curator was connected to the theft, though Whitmore said a team of at least two people was involved.

The drawing, swiped Saturday night, was valued at $250,000 and being exhibited as part of a private display in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in the upmarket seaside community of Marina del Rey.

It was being displayed on an easel or wooden stand and was apparently not fastened down in any way, Whitmore said.

The sketch ― drawn with a quill pen, depicting what appears to be a court scene with a man prostrating himself before a judge ― was completed around 1655 and is signed on the back by Rembrandt von Rijn. He is widely regarded as one of the finest painters in European art history and his worldwide name recognition has made his work a common target for thieves.

The display was sponsored by the Linearis Institute based in the San Francisco Bay area community of Hercules.