Brazil police recover 8 stolen Matisse works, arrest 1 man
What's new: Five stolen Portinari engravings are still missing and investigators believe they were sold.
Brazilian police recovered eight Henri Matisse illustrations stolen from Sao Paulo's Mario de Andrade Library and arrested a 44-year-old man suspected of storing the works. Officers found the pieces on Thursday at a home in Sao Bernardo do Campo, in the Sao Paulo metro area, after a months-long investigation into the December 2025 heist. During that robbery, two thieves overpowered a security guard and an elderly couple visiting the library, then fled on foot with 13 artworks. Police have already arrested three other people, including alleged mastermind Laessio Rodrigues de Oliveira, who was taken into custody in April in a separate art-theft case. The recovered Matisse works have been returned to the library. Five stolen engravings by Candido Portinari remain missing.