Steve Wynn was at his office showing to some friends the Picasso canvas he just sold to another collector when he accidentally gave “The Dream” an elbow.
The canvas was recently sold in $139 million in a bid that established a new record in Picasso’s sales. But now the sale was suspended because of the accident.
According to witnesses, Wynn was at his office, where he kept the painting, showing it to some close friends when he raised his arm to point at a detail and he accidentally poked the artwork with his elbow. “There was a terrible noise,” a witness said.
Wynn has retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that compromises peripheral vision. After the incident, the magnate called the buyer and released him from the deal. He is going to repair the silver dollar hole and keep the canvas for himself.
The artwork, a portrait of Pablo Picasso’s mistress Marie-Therese Walter, was painted in 1932 and entitled “Le Reve” (The Dream).
Steve Wynn was the developer of The Mirage and Bellagio resorts in Las Vegas in the 90’s.
Steve Wynn was at his office showing to some friends the Picasso canvas he just sold to another collector when he accidentally gave “The Dream” an elbow.