The painting above La Reve was due to be sold in 2006 for 139 million dollars when the owner, Steve Wynn accidentally poked a small hole in it with his elbow. After a 90,000 dollar repair, the painting was appraised at 85 million dollars ...Whoops!
Picasso in St. Augustine
The City of St. Augustine's representatives ,on their last visit to Spain received a very tangible result by having the Museo de Picasso in Malaga, Spain offer to give St. Augustine a Picasso exhibit for the 450th anniversary celebration. This is a major gift. This collection, directly from the Picasso heirs, has never been in the U.S. before. This is a world class event!.
The naysayers are already starting up. "Why Picasso?" someone asked , unfamiliar with both art and our city's origin. "Oh, the cost!" say others , not realizing that this exhibit is a grand coup for us. Art lovers will travel from a great distance to see his works. Non art lovers will just want to see what 30 million dollar paintings look like in person.
Yes ,there are expenses. Shipping, security, insurance, not to mention that we need a location for such an exhibit. It requires more than four walls and a roof. City Manager John Regan suggests that the under utilized Visitor Information Center on San Marco Blvd be "beefed up" with a 1.5 million dollar addition. We agree that this would be a good thing and the addition will make this an excellent place for weddings, banquets and further exhibits. A six month or 12 month (even better) Picasso exhibit will more than cover costs to the community.
Vision is what is required. We are lucky to have this invitation. Our former City Manager Bill Harris. stated in 2008 that he thinks "Art is Foo-Foo". It is fortunate for us that he retired recently and we have people is the city who recognize that this is an event that is perfectly aligned with our 450th anniversary in five years.
Yeah Karl, But they still arrest artists in the street.Art friendly? I think not!
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