Police in Brazil found a major work by Tarsila do Amaral, one of the country’s most important modern artists, beneath a bed on Wednesday during an investigation into a group of stolen artworks.
The do Amaral painting is said to be worth 300 million reias, or $59.1 million. It is one of 16 paintings that police said were pilfered during an operation that ultimately involved 709 million reias ($139 million) worth of art, not counting the jewelry and cash that were also stolen.
Primarily, the police want to bust the extended con undertaken by the daughter of Genevieve Boghici – an 82-year-old married once to the well-to-do late Brazilian dealer Jean Boghici. The daughter, unidentified at this point in time, lured her mother in all sorts of payments allegedly to do with her ill health. Genevieve, getting suspicious after some time, paid dearly for her suspicions with her daughter tracking her down, beating her, and stealing the 16 paintings. The total worth of the pilfered collection is $139m.