At least two Picasso paintings worth a total of nearly US$66 million were stolen from the house of the artist’s granddaughter in Paris, police said on February 28.

The paintings, “Maya and the Doll” and “Portrait of Jacqueline,” disappeared overnight February 26 to 27 from the home of Diana Widmaier-Picasso, a Paris police official said.

The official said they were worth nearly US$66 million, and that there were signs of breaking and entering in the house.

The Art Loss Register, which maintains the world’s largest database on stolen, missing and looted* art, lists 549 missing Picasso pieces, including paintings, lithographs* and drawings.

The number of missing Picassos is so high simply because Picasso was so prolific*, said Antonia Kimbell, a staff member with the register. She said the Paris theft was “definitely quite significant.”

Although police only mentioned the two paintings, the director of the Picasso Museum, Anne Baldassari, said several paintings and drawings were stolen from the home of Diana Widmaier-Picasso, an art historian and author of a book called “Art Can Only be Erotic*.”

“Maya and the Doll” is a colorful portrait* of Widmaier-Picasso’s mother as a young blond girl in pigtails*. Maya is the daughter of Picasso and Marie-Therese Walter, his companion from 1924-44.

“Portrait of Jacqueline” depicts* Picasso’s last wife.

Among recent missing Picassos is an abstract* watercolor stolen in Mexico, Kimbell said.

Major stolen pieces usually sell for a pittance* on the black market because potential buyers are afraid to touch them.