The Sûreté du Québec announced Friday that its investigators found a stolen lithograph by the artist Jean-Paul Riopelle during a search of a residence in Mirabel.
Posted at 4:41 p.m.
The police say that the lithograph was stolen on June 30, 2005 during a break-in at the painter’s former studio in Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson. Other valuable coins were allegedly stolen at the same time. “To date, three of these works are still wanted,” police said in a statement.
According to a source familiar with the case, but who was not authorized to speak about it publicly, potential buyers were approached recently to acquire the work, but this turmoil on the market was reported to specialized investigators. The police did not want to confirm this information, when questioned by The Press.
No one has been arrested so far and the investigation is continuing. In terms of works of art, the policy of the Sûreté du Québec for several years has been to favor the recovery of works before the filing of charges. A specialized module was created for this purpose in 2003, a unique initiative in Canada.
“The primary objective was not to arrest people, but to preserve the cultural heritage of Quebec,” declared to The Press Captain Alain Gaulin in 2017. That year, his troops got their hands on three stolen paintings by Riopelles that were on display in the home of a man linked to the mafia, in Montreal.
When it comes to theft of works of art, one of the artists who occupy Quebec police the most is Jean-Paul Riopelle. The signatory of Global denialwho died in 2002, is one of the most expensive painters in Quebec.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about the missing prints to contact them.