By: Thomas Watkins, Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP).- A 17th Century drawing by Rembrandt was snatched from a private art display at a California luxury hotel while a curator was momentarily distracted, officials said Monday. The theft of the $250,000 sketch from the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in the upmarket seaside community of Marina del Rey happened around 10:30 p.m. Saturday night while someone who seemed interested in buying another piece held the curator’s attention for a few minutes. “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 Whitman said a team of at least two people was involved. The sketch, called “The Judgment,” was completed around 1655 and is signed on the back by the Dutch master. Rembrandt von Rijn is widely regarded as one of the finest painters in European art history and his worldw