Following a phone call with the purchaser of the painting, an exhibition organizer has reported that the painting is now in the Koptevo district police station.
A portrait of President Vladimir Putin as a Simpsons character was stolen from a central Moscow business center on Tuesday, the website of Afisha magazine reported.
На выставке молодых художников Who Art Who кто-то стащил картину с портретом Путина. http://t.co/UPFoqQui7z pic.twitter.com/zHTOE652xy
— Афиша Город (@afishagorod) 26 августа 2015
The painting, entitled "Man of an Era" was created by Turkmenistan-born artist Amir Kerr, a current resident of Moscow. The exhibit at the business center opened on Friday, and the painting sold only 15 minutes after opening.
At the time of the theft, the exhibit had closed. Only two organizers and three security guards were present, preventing anyone apart from the exhibit's participants from entering the venue.
The thieves displayed stealth — no trace of them was found, even after organizers studied the CCTV footage.
