The Dream, by Pablo Picasso
Article By: Elena Gorgan, Entertainment News Editor
To many, the name Steve Wynn does not ring any bells but to art connoisseurs and casino millionaires, he is one of the most respected (and money-making) businessmen in the industry.
Unfortunately, from now one, he will also go down in history as the only man ever to put a hole in the center of a Picasso painting... his very own, by the way.Mr. Wynn, a respectable art collector, had just concluded a deal with another art lover for 'Le Reve' ('The Dream'), that was to get him $139 million. After the transaction was finalized, Wynn was showing the painting to some of his friends, in his Las Vegas office.As he lifted his hand to show them something, Wynn, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that damages peripheral vision, lost his balance and leaned with his elbow in the 1932 painting. The director and screenwriter Nore Ephron was present when the incident took place and she later wrote on her blog: '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. “Oh, s**t”, he said. “Look what I've done. Thank goodness it was me”'. Because the painting could no longer go to its new owner, Wynn released him from the agreement and vouched to repair and keep the painting himself, he said in a press statement.
QUESTIONS:
1) After reading this article, do YOU still think the painting is worth 139 million dollars now? Why or why not?
2) Pretend the painting was not ruied yet and you could afford the painting for 139 million dollars. Would you buy it or not?
