France seizes $27M Picasso masterpiece smuggled from Spain
PARIS -- French custom officials in the island of Corsica have seized a $27.4 million masterpiece by Pablo Picasso that was banned from leaving Spain where it is considered a national treasure.
Corsican authorities say in a statement Tuesday they were tipped off about an attempted smuggling of the prized 1906 painting, "Head of a Young Woman," to Switzerland.
The oil painting, which comes from the Cubist master's "pink period" and features a woman with long black hair, was seized from a boat cargo on Friday, when the captain was unable to produce a certificate.
On the boat, authorities say, a document was found in Spanish confirming that the work was of "cultural interest" and was banned from leaving Spain, Picasso's homeland.
Another Picasso painting -- "La Coiffeuse" -- was found in New Jersey in February after it went missing in Paris over a decade ago.