The Picasso Museum’s director tries to talk the theives back to their senses, Bloomberg reports. Counteracting the simplistic valuation placed on the recently stolen notebook, Anne Baldassari points out that the $11m figure is the product of poor math where the number of drawings were multiplied by the average price for a Picasso sketch. But these sketches are mostly of academic interest:

It’s an interesting notebook from a scholarly standpoint, as documentation,” she said in an interview. “On the market, it’s worth nothing, especially since it was stolen.” […]

“The only people interested in this sketchbook are major museums: We recently bought a sketchbook ourselves, to prevent it from being destroyed and dismembered,” said Baldassari. “It allows us to preserve all evidence of the work of Picasso.” She urged the holder of the work to keep it in one piece and return it. “To destroy an object in an attempt to increase its value is absurd,” she said. “The person in whose hands it is should find a way of giving it back.” […]

To Robert Read, the head fine-art underwriter at insurer Hiscox Ltd., the theft “looks fairly amateurish.”

“If you want to commit an art crime, theft is the dumbest one to do: It’s got the poorest return,” said Read.

Picasso Museum Director Appeals for Return of Stolen Sketchbook (Bloomberg)