In an act of casual midday thievery noted in yesterday's blotter, an art thief walked in to the Weinstein Gallery near Union Square yesterday and strolled out with Pablo Picasso's "Tête de Femme" - a pencil drawing by the cubist painter valued at more than $200,000. After lifting the drawing off the wall just before noon, the thief made his getaway via taxicab wearing sock-free loafers, a dark jacket and large sunglasses. Making the story seem even more implausible (how'd he managed to catch a cab in the middle of the day, anyway?), popular pastrami eatery Lefty O'Doul's may play a role in catching the Picasso pilferer.
Security cameras at the lunch spot a few doors down from the gallery caught a shot of the thief strolling down Geary with the framed drawing under him arm. Gallery owner Rowland Weinstein told the press yesterday that the distinctive drawing will be admittedly hard to sell, but his biggest fear is that the thief, "will realize it’s unsellable and will dispose of it in a less-than-proper manner." Or maybe he'll just keep it for himself and hang it over the toilet in his apartment.
