Several Artworks Stolen

Several works of art valued at five million euros, by artists like Picasso, Tàpies, Chillida, and Botero, among others, were stolen on November 27 from a warehouse located in the city of Getafe in Madrid's metropolitan area. It represents the biggest theft of contemporary art so far in Spain. Police sources confirmed that the works were stolen from a truck that belongs to an art transport company, in the industrial neighborhood of Los Olivos. The artworks-at least 22 of which were insured by the AXA Art company-had been exhibited and were on their way to be returned to their respective owners, six galleries in Madrid and Barcelona. It has been confirmed that the truck contained a drawing by Picasso and works by Tàpies, Saura, Botero, and Julio González. Nonetheless, the largest number of works-eleven-were by sculptor Eduardo Chillida; among these, the terracotta Óxido and the Topos IV sculpture, and an iron bench valued at more than 800,000 euros according to a spokesperson for the sculpture¿s owner, Galeria Nieves Fernández, and whose handling "requires several persons and machinery."