Art Trove Stolen From Westside Sat In Storage Facility For Years

LOS ANGELES, CA — Until recently, a treasure-trove of stolen artwork sat in a San Fernando Valley storage facility for years, Los Angeles Police Department investigators announced Tuesday. A San Fernando resident, who discovered the artwork in a late relative's storage facility, realized they were looking at a series of stolen lithographs by Benjamin Creme. The collection is worth about $800,000, according to investigators.

The relative did the right thing and called the police.

"Detectives received a phone call from (police officers) in Mission Division about a person who discovered stolen artwork and wanted to turn the artwork over to authorities," according to an LAPD statement. "Commercial Crimes (Division) detectives responded to the person's residence in the city of San Fernando where it had been stored for the past few years."

The signed lithographs were turned over to detectives on Sept. 25, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The individual, whose name was withheld, told detectives that the artwork was previously in possession of a relative who had died a few years ago.

"The reporting person took the deceased relative's items out of storage and brought them to their residence," police said. "Upon looking through the items from the deceased relative, the reporting person discovered the artwork was stolen after visiting a law enforcement website and immediately notified authorities."

Police released few details about the original theft. According to investigators, the lithographs were stored in the victim's Westside storage facility between Nov. 2011 and Aug. 2012.

City News Service contributed to this report.