A husband and wife were today found guilty of stashing some £50million worth of stolen Picasso art treasures in their garage for almost 40 years . Pierre Le Guennec , 74 , and Danielle , 73 , were given a suspended prison sentence of two years by a court in the French Riviera town of Grasse . Both had insisted that they were all 'presents ' from the legendary Spanish artist , but the court found they were 'fraudulently obtained ' and ordered them to be returned to his family . Pierre Le Guennec ( right ) and his wife Danielle wait for the verdict of their trial . The court today found the couple were found guilty of stashing the 'fraudulently obtained ' artwork . The couple address the media following the verdict , in which they were ordered to return the Picasso treasures and given a suspended prison sentence of two years . It was in November 2010 that 271 lithographs , cubist paintings , notebooks and a watercolour were found at their modest home in Mouans-Sartoux , in the South of France . But six of Picasso 's descendants accused them of the crime , and will now take charge of the works . During the trial , all 271 works , created between 1900 and 1932 , were beamed onto a giant screen inside the court . Le Guennec claimed he was given the collection by the artist and his second wife , Jacqueline , when he was an odd job man at their home in Notre-Dame-de-Vie in Mougins , near Cannes . Le Guennec , a qualified electrician , installed a burglar alarm at the luxury villa before the artist died in 1973 , and said he accepted them as 'thank you ' gifts . Referring to Picasso , Mr Le Guennec said he 'often invited me in to have some cake or a coffee . Me and the master talked about all things great and small . 'One evening , I was leaving my work , when Madame handed me a little package saying : 'This is for you ' . But Claude Picasso , the artist 's son , said that his father was noted for his generosity , but that he always dedicated , dated and signed his gifts , as he knew that some recipients might try to sell the works one day . Two of the newly discovered Picasso drawings , one in a notebook ( above left ) , and the other called 'Nature Morte Verre ' ( Still life Glass ) Jean-Jacques Neuer , Claude Picasso 's barrister , said : 'They do n't remember whether they received the so called gift in 1970 , 71 or 72 . If you are given 271 Picassos , you remember it . 'You have to imagine that Picasso kept hold of them for 70 years and suddenly decided to give the lot away . That 's does n't make sense . ' The only document with the name Le Guennec on is a signed brochure for a Picasso exhibition , said Mr Neuer . 'When you give a present , you choose something precise that fits the person , ' said Mr Neuer . 'Picasso here is giving away works that have nothing to do with each other - notably extremely precious cubist collages that represent 10 per cent of his production , ' he said . The couple listen to Judge Jean-Christophe Bruyere give the verdict at a court in Grasse , southeast France . Picasso 's son Claude Ruiz ( left ) and daughter Maya sit in the courtroom today awaiting the verdict . Another Picasso drawing , this time of a horse , from Pierre Le Guennec 's collection that he kept in his garage . 'But also two notebooks of drawings , work tools that he would never have given away . The issue is not whether Picasso was generous or not . Picasso was n't someone who was careless about his works – he did n't give work away just for the sake of it . ' Charles-Etienne Gudin , lawyer for the couple , said the works came from the artist 's 'Grands-Augustins ' studio on Paris 's Left Bank . He said that Mr Le Guennec would never have stolen from the Picasso 's villa , describing it as a 'fortress ' watched over night and day by security guards . The trial comes after Marina Picasso , the artist 's granddaughter , said she was selling of the famous villa , along with a selection of his work , for up to £190m . Ms Picasso wrote a memoir 'Picasso : My Grandfather ' in 2001 , in which she accused him of destroying her childhood . Picasso 's works are the most stolen of any artist in history . He has more than 1,000 paintings registered as taken unlawfully , missing or disputed . A painting of a hand by Picasso that was among 271 undocumented , never-before-seen works estimated to be worth at least £50million . A painting 'Still life glass sand ' and a drawing 'Nu Assis ( Sitting nude ) ' which feature among the 271 hitherto unseen works by Picasso produced by the artist 's odd job man .
In today , a French couple revealed they possessed 271 Picasso artworks . Pierre and Danielle Le Guennec claimed he had given them the collection . In a French court 2010 the couple were convicted of concealing stolen art . The court found they had concealed art that was 'fraudulently obtained ' They received two-years suspended sentence and ordered to return items .