Picasso gets the VI treatment

[Dave (The VIP Consumer)]

Not sure whether to laugh or cry at this news story, but it certainly
put some of my (RP) mishaps into perspective!

From BBC News:
____________

Tycoon holes dream Picasso deal
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.

Las Vegas magnate Steve Wynn was showing Le Reve (The Dream) to guests
at his office in Las Vegas last month.

Mr Wynn, who has retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease affecting
peripheral vision, tore a coin-sized hole.

He will now keep the painting, which he bought in 1997 for $48.4m, and
repair it, his spokeswoman said.

Mr Wynn had finalised the sale of the 1932 painting to art collector
Steven Cohen.

The $139m price tag would have been $4m higher than the previous
private-sale record - for Gustav Klimt's 1907 portrait, Adele
Bloch-Bauer I, in July this year.

Picasso's Boy With a Pipe, which fetched $104.1m in 2004, holds the
record for art sold at auction.

Mr Wynn, known for gesturing with hands while speaking, was showing
the painting at his office at Wynn Las Vegas when he struck it with
his right elbow, spokeswoman Denise Randazzo said.

Director and screenwriter Nora Ephron was at the incident and wrote
about it on a blog site.

She said Mr Wynn raised his hand then "at that moment, his elbow
crashed backward right through the canvas. There was a terrible
noise".

"Smack in the middle... was a black hole the size of a silver dollar.
'Look what I've done' he said. 'Thank goodness it was me.'"

Mr Wynn, a high-profile art collector, developed The Mirage and
Bellagio resorts in Las Vegas in the 1990s.
____________

Dave

___

The VIP Consumer: consumer reviews and discussion from a visually impaired perspective.
www.vipconsumer.com

[Brian Gaff]

Yes I heard this yesterday, His wife apparently took it as an omen to keep
the work.

Brian

--
Brian Gaff - bri...@blueyonder.co.uk
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"Dave (The VIP Consumer)" <vipconsumer.com> wrote in message
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[Dave (The VIP Consumer)]

On Thu, 19 Oct 2006 08:42:20 GMT, "Brian Gaff"
<bri...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

>Yes I heard this yesterday, His wife apparently took it as an omen to keep
>the work.

More likely the buyer took it as an omen not to buy (or, at least, not
for $139m!).

[Brian Gaff]

Well, spin is all these days I suppose.

Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email: bri...@blueyonder.co.uk
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Dave (The VIP Consumer)" <vipconsumer.com> wrote in message

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[Henrietta K Thomas]

On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 19:19:29 +0100, in soc.support.vision-impaired,
"Dave (The VIP Consumer)" <vipconsumer.com> wrote:

>Not sure whether to laugh or cry at this news story, but it certainly
>put some of my (RP) mishaps into perspective!
>
>From BBC News:
>____________
>
>Tycoon holes dream Picasso deal
>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.
>
>Las Vegas magnate Steve Wynn was showing Le Reve (The Dream) to guests
>at his office in Las Vegas last month.
>
>Mr Wynn, who has retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease affecting
>peripheral vision, tore a coin-sized hole.
>
>He will now keep the painting,

Well, there's a humorous side to this story, but I think I would cry. A
valuable painting has been damaged, and will never again be worth all
those millions of dollars. :(
--
Henrietta