Art News

Too Hot to Handle: 350-Year-Old Stolen Rembrandt Found at California Church

MARINA DEL REY (AP).- A stolen Rembrandt sketch was too hot to handle for thieves, and even the detective who held the 17th century artwork in white-gloved hands Tuesday admitted he was nervous. After all, it was only days earlier that the 350-year-old artwork worth $250,000 was swiped from the lobby of a seaside hotel. The 11-by-6-inch pen-and-ink drawing was found in an unlocked public area of an Encino church Monday evening after a caller recognized it from news accounts of its weekend theft, said Los Angeles County sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore. It was verified as being the stolen piece shortly after midnight, he said. However, experts will be asked to authenticate the work as a Rembrandt, and until then it will remain in an evidence locker, Whitmore said. “It’s going to stay under lock and key until the detectives determine where to send it next,” he said. The frame holding it will be fingerprinted and investigators will try to determine whether the church has any sur