( CNN ) The shipper said it was a $ 37 piece of art craft being sent to the United States as a Christmas present . The feds say it was actually a stolen Picasso , missing for more than a decade and worth millions of dollars . The work of art , painted in 1911 by the Cubist master , was recovered when it was shipped from Belgium to the United States in December . It was discovered by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and seized by Homeland Security Investigations . `` A lost treasure has been found , '' said Loretta Lynch , U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York . Lynch filed civil action to gain possession of the painting . It will be returned to the French government , which owns the painting . The work , entitled `` La Coiffeuse '' ( `` The Hairdresser '' ) , was discovered missing in 2001 . The French received a loan request and when someone went to get it out of storage at the Centre George Pompidou , the painting was gone . In December , the painting came to the United States . The label said `` Art Craft / 30 E / Joyeux Noel . '' Customs officials investigated further and found something worth far more than 30 Euros . Deputy Special Agent in Charge Anthony Scandiffio of the Homeland Security Investigations said : `` The recovery of the La Coiffeuse sends a strong message to thieves that the market to sell stolen antiquities in the United States is drying up . '' The news release from Lynch did n't give the name of the person who shipped the painting .
Painting was discovered to be missing in 2001 . The painting is now on display at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC and has been described as one of the most important works by a female artist from that time period. It will be returned to the government of France .