Houston man named in defacing of Picasso

(AP) HOUSTON - Houston police are searching for a man now charged with vandalizing a 1929 Pablo Picasso painting in an act that was caught on video.

Uriel Landeros of Houston was charged Friday with felony graffiti and criminal mischief for spraypainting the artwork titled "Woman in a Red Armchair" at the city's Menil Collection.

Crime Stoppers says it's offering a $5,000 reward for tips leading to the 22-year-old's arrest.

The painting was damaged June 13. The act of vandalism was caught in a 24-second video taken by a bystander and posted on YouTube.

Picasso painting vandalized at museum

It shows a man dressed in black holding a stencil up to the work of art and spray-painting it.

He left behind an image of a bullfighter, a bull and the word "conquista," the Spanish word for conquest.

Police are now trying to track down the 22-year-old Landeros, who has been charged with criminal mischief and felony graffiti, reports CBS Affiliate KHOU. Both are third-degree felonies punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The charges could be upgraded to first-degree felonies, depending on how much it costs to restore the painting.

Landeros has dark hair and eyes, is about 5'8 and weighs about 180 lbs. He has several tattoos.

Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva told KHOU that investigators are reviewing both the museum's surveillance video and the YouTube video. When asked earlier this week if police think the vandal and witness were working together, she replied, "We're taking all the information and we're looking at all aspects of the incident."

She would not say whether police had spoken to the witness who shot the video.

The YouTube poster described the video as a tribute "In Dedication to the art beast Pablo Picasso."

[esbeesue]

so when vandals paint grafitti on private property it is considered art but this artist paints grafitti ( a bull in the likeness of picasso's bull) on a Picasso and they call it vandalism. I fail to see the difference.

[JuanPabloElSegundo]

Graffiti on private property is considered art? By whom? Certainly not the owners of that property.

[ralphing]

Give me your address so I can pimp out your car with some spray paint. You be the judge if its art or vandalism.

[lucifersshadow]

Abstract Art: A product of the untalented, sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered. Albert Camus

[Jaylah54100]

I had to laugh. Not at the act of vandalizing a multi-million dollar work of art, but because -- amazingly -- some guy got the whole thing on video, which means authorities stand a chance of finding the idiot that did it, and all the museum guard had to say about it was that cameras weren't allowed. TWICE.

Some great museum guard. Can't spot a guy spray painting a Picasso, but wow, let some guy take out a camera and...

Let's hope the guard has been fired.

[formerlyluvnut]

I mean...I couldn't care less about what Picasso or whoever painted but...........why???

[hypnotoad72]

Malice for the sole goal of self-enjoyment.

Even animals have higher standards; when's the last time you saw one bird go to another's nest half a mile away just to deface it?

[scardiekat]

Wouldn't you know it, a dumb ass spaniard,from a great nation that revels in the torture and murder of defenceless creatures

[Mitt_is_a_dufus]

He would be looking at less time if he had killed a person while he drove drunk.

They have tougher laws when it comes to protecting old paintings.

[IddamNamluhs919]

What kind of moron would do this? I mean, it's understandable that not everyone's an art person, but this just isn't cool.