Paris, France (CNN) -- A retired French electrician who revealed that he has 271 previously unknown works by the artist Pablo Picasso did not steal them, his lawyer told CNN Tuesday.
"He kept them with love," Evelyne Rees said.
Pierre Le Guennec, 71, worked for Picasso for three years, until the artist died in 1973, and continued to work for his widow Jacqueline until she died 13 years later, Rees said.
The electrician asked Jacqueline for pieces of Picasso's work and she gave them to Le Guennec over a period of time, his lawyer said.
Le Guennec contacted the Picasso estate by mail in January to request certification of authenticity for the works -- a collection of cubist collages, drawings, lithographs, notebooks and a watercolor.
Along with the letter, Le Guennec included 26 photographs of previously unpublished Picasso pieces.
But he found himself slapped with a lawsuit filed by the artist's son, Claude Picasso, and five other heirs who say the works are stolen.
The lawsuit was first reported Monday by the French newspaper Liberation. CNN
