Authorities recovered two Picasso etchings and a Chagall lithograph after a California art dealer realized that the Chagall had been stolen from a Georgetown gallery.
Former D.C. resident Marcus Patmon, 37, was arrested at his Miami home Friday and charged with dealing in stolen property. Additional charges of burglary and grand theft are pending, police said.
Patmon became a suspect after he allegedly tried to sell Pablo Picasso’s “Le Repas Frugal” to a California art dealer in July. The 1904 Le Repas Frugal, valued at $395,000, is considered by art experts to be Picasso’s first successful attempt at etching.
Patmon told the dealer that his grandfather had given him the etching, but the dealer became suspicious and checked the FBI’s stolen art registry. The etching had been reported stolen in May from Gallery Biba in Palm Beach, along with Picasso’s “Jacqueline Lisant,” valued at $145,000.
The dealer reported the phone call to authorities and told detectives that she had previously bought a Chagall lithograph from Patmon. Detectives determined it had been stolen from Washington, D.C.
In December, a burglar used a crowbar to break into Galerie Lareuse, 2820 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. The suspect or suspects took off with a 1960 Marc Chagall work entitled “The Meeting of Ruth & Boaz;” a signed color lithograph valued at $14,500. They also made off with a 1936 Pablo Picasso signed black and white original etching entitled, “Faune dévoilant une Femme” which is valued at $115,000.
Galerie Lareuse was closed Sunday and the owner’s could not be reached for comment.
When Patmon approached the California art dealer about buying the stolen Picasso, she told him that she’d have to see the etching first. He agreed to send it to her.
Detectives were able to lift fingerprints off the packing material that connected Patmon to the stolen etching, according to arrest report.
Authorities raided Patmon’s Miami home on Friday and recovered the “Jacqueline Lisant” etching.
This is not Patmon’s first arrest. He has previously been arrested on felony battery charges, according to Florida records.
His estranged wife, Marcia Patmon, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel the arrest did not surprise her.
“He is a con artist and a thief,” she said. “If you got to know Marcus, he seems well-cultured even though he has never left the United States. He seems very well-spoken and educated even though all he has is college credits.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
