Two Picasso etchings stolen from Bellevue Square gallery

Bellevue police are searching for three suspects who stole two original Picasso etchings Wednesday morning from an art gallery at Bellevue Square mall.

One female and two males were videotaped on security cameras as they took off with the art at the Martin Lawrence Gallery, said Bellevue police Officer Greg Grannis. The etchings were called the "Bacchic Scene with Minotaur" and "Aquatint 26" and are worth about $100,000 he said.

"These are two hot pieces, and we want to tell people not to buy them," Grannis said.

Formerly known as Kenneth Behm Galleries, the gallery has been hit with attempted thefts in the past. Two fumbling attempts by one man to steal a Lucite sculpture — in October 2005 and last November — were unsuccessful after he knocked over part of the display when he grabbed the statue. The man put the statue down and fled after being confronted by store employees.

Wednesday's theft was "a little more sophisticated than what we've seen in the past," Grannis said.

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com