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Major L.A. art heist: Recovered works worth over $12 million, FBI says

Several paintings recovered from the 2008 heist are displayed before a Dec. 19 FBI news conference in Los Angeles. Three paintings are still missing.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Artworks worth more than $12 million have been recovered after one of the biggest art heists in Los Angeles history, the FBI said Friday.

The works were stolen in 2008 from an Encino couple, who did not live to see the recovery of their possessions. The husband died within four months of the crime, authorities said, and his wife died earlier this year.

A dozen paintings were stolen from the elderly couple's multimillion-dollar collection. The works were taken from the couple's home in broad daylight while they were in their bedrooms nearby, authorities said.

Among the stolen works were Emil Nolde's "Figur mit Hund" (Figure With Dog), 1912; Lyonel Feininger's "Fin de Seance," 1910; Chaim Soutine's "La Vieille Dame au Chien" (Old Woman With Dog), 1919; Soutine's "La Femme en Rouge" (Woman in Red), 1926; Kees van Dongen's "Alicia Alanova," 1933; and Hans Hofmann's Untitled (known as "Blue Bottle"), 1947.

In a news conference Friday, FBI agents said there are three pieces yet to be recovered. One of them is believed to be by Hungarian artist Endre Szasz. The FBI said the value of the artworks ranks them as the greatest recovery in recent history.

A reward of $25,000 was offered for any information regarding the rest of the stolen art.

See more on the news conference below.

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