COSTLY
MOVE

Topics: Ambition; Judgment; Loss; Luxury; Money; Mortality; Possessions; Prosperity; Riches; Stewardship; Value; Vulnerability; Worth

References: Psalm 39:6; 144:4; Proverbs 21:6; 23:5; Ecclesiastes 5:10; Matthew 6:19–21; 16:26; Luke 12:13–21; James 5:1–6

The man who would have sold his Picasso painting for $139 million put an elbow through it minutes before completing the sale.

Throughout his life, Pablo Picasso produced an estimated 13,500 paintings and designs, 100,000 prints and engravings, 34,000 book illustrations, and 300 sculptures and ceramics. The painting titled The Dream was completed in 1932.

In 1997, at an art auction at Christie’s in New York City, casino magnate Steve Wynn purchased The Dream for $47 million. Less than a decade later, Wynn completed a deal to sell the painting for $139 million. The transaction would have set a record for the sale of a piece of art.

It would have—if Wynn, who was standing close to the painting, hadn’t turned and inadvertently clobbered the Picasso with his elbow, punching a six-inch hole in the middle of the masterpiece. While no one is certain what that does to the value of the painting itself, the effect on the sale price was immediate. Even more quickly than it had come, the record-breaking $139 million sale evaporated.

—Associated Press, “Vegas Tycoon Pokes Hole in a Picasso,” CBSNews.com (October 18, 2006)