A report out of Nice France on Nov 29th, 2010 says that 271 Picasso original works of art have surfaced.

This event has stunned the world of art. Liberation, the French newspaper was the first to report this story.

Picassos surviving son, Claude Picasso says he is in “a state of shock” after he himself was able to inspect them and says he believes them to be authentic. Pierre LeGuennec , 71 from the small town of Mouans, Sartoux, just outside Nice, came forward with the undocumented works of art in September. He is now under suspicion as to how he obtained the art work.

The finding includes water colors, sketches, lithographs, as well as nine cubist collages and is estimated to be valued at over $80 million dollars. Mr. LeGuennec, now faces a legal battle. As well, he and his wife Danielle, are now under police investigation to try to ascertain whether the pieces were stolen. He says that he and Picasso became friends during the last years of his life when he worked for him installing security systems on his properties. He states he received all the pieces as a gift and has kept them stored at his house and garage for the last forty years.

Due to these unprecedented circumstances, all the 271 pieces of art are now being held by the Central Office for the Fight against Traffic in Cultural Goods. In January, this unbelievable story began to blossom when Mr. LeGuennec wrote a letter to the Picasso estate offices, in Paris, indicating that he wanted to have some of the original artist work authenticated. Jean-Jacques Neurer (lawyer for the Picasso estate) told AOL news that “it is not uncommon to get letters like that” but in most instances nothing ever results from these request and he believed this one to be a hoax as well. Because LaGuennec remained persistent in his request to the point of sending photocopies of some of the art work, Picasso’s son, Claude, agreed to meet with him and his wife in Paris on Sept 9th.

CNN is reporting that Neurer received a call within minutes of the meeting ending from the estates authenticator and was told he was “shocked” to find they believed that the pieces were truly Picassos. Mr. LeGuennec’s legal problems could go on indefinitely as the police continue to investigate.