A REMBRANDT DRAWING worth an estimated $250,000 (€175,000) has been stolen from a hotel in Los Angeles – after being put out on display in a bid to attract a potential buyer.

‘The Judgment’, a pen-and-ink drawing dating from 1655 and measuring 11″ by 6″, was in display at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey when it was stolen on Saturday night – despite the hotel boasting of top-quality security.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the artwork was stolen at some point between 10:20pm and 10:35pm local time on Saturday, when the exhibition’s curator was distracted by a buyer who claimed to be interested in another work.

It wasn’t clear, it added, whether the person who caused the distraction was actually part of the scheme to nab the Rembrandt work.

The BBC quoted a police spokesman who described the theft as “a well-thought-out, well-executed theft” – and added that the hotel enjoyed some of the best security in the country.

The spokesman said he was satisfied that the hotel’s CCTV system would help them to apprehend the culprit.

The piece is owned by the Linearis Institute of San Francisco, which had organised the exhibition in a bid to find buyers for its collection.