Tycoon accidentally elbows hole in $139m Picasso

[encyclo]

A US casino mogul has pulled out of a deal to sell his Picasso painting for a record $139m (£74m) after accidentally elbowing a hole in the middle. (...) 'Look what I've done' he said. 'Thank goodness it was me.'"

[news.bbc.co.uk...]

[kevinpate]

He lets the buyer out fo the deal of course. He also decides he'll have the painting restored and just hang on to it.

Sounds like a Wynn-Wynn deal :)

[GaryK]

The poor guy. Figuratively of course, not literally. I honestly do feel bad for him. His alleged calm reaction was amazing. I'd have gone psycho on myself. ;)

[Bewenched]

I'm sure the item was insured against theft or damage.

[walkman]

>> I'm sure the item was insured against theft or damage.

probably they will not pay given that he did it.

As far as calm, even though that is only about 1/20th of his worth, and he didn't lose everything, it's still $140 million :)

[deejay]

wow.... valued at 48 million in 1997? nearly trebled in price in less than ten years.. that's one heck of a return on investment, hole or no.

[walkman]

>> wow.... valued at 48 million in 1997? nearly trebled in price in less than ten years.. that's one heck of a return on investment, hole or no.

I woudl think so too, but these rich #*$!s :) have a way of getting much better returns.

But yeah, trippling the returns while still being the owner of a Picasso is amazing. Not to mention the benefit to his business (press mentions etc.)

[GaryK]

My warped mind can't help but wonder if somehow a Picasso that was damaged by Wynn and then restored will increase its market value? After all, it's not only a Picasso, it's also a Wynn. Stuff with an interesting story behind it sometimes seems to be worth more than the same item without the interesting story.

[trannack]

GaryK - quite agree, being an ex-autioneer - I can't help think that in this instance the value will only increase. Great provenance, now, nigh-on impossible to forge - couldn't have done better if he tried! Love to have seen it though!

[HarryM]

wow.... valued at 48 million in 1997? nearly trebled in price in less than ten years..

Why be surprised? That's why people have been buying art for over a hundred years. At worst it's a hedge against inflation, and if you spot a trend you can do very well.

Art appreciation has nothing to do with it. For every major painting hanging on a wall there's probably another in a bank vault.

I wonder if sharks and cows in preservative will do the same? Hope not.

Signed,

The Eternal Cynic

[GaryK]

There is an interesting article on Slate about how Wynn's Picasso can be repaired. It's amazing to me what art conservators can do these days to repair damaged artwork. It's possible this Picasso will look undamaged, and yet since the story behind it is now so well known there's still the potential for increased market value because of the painting's interesting story.