Little Damage May Cause Big Money Loss

How much is a hole in a painting worth. Steve Wynn accidentally raised his elbow and made a hole in the $139 million Picasso he had just sold. (See October 20^th

Kovels Komments and December 2006 Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter.) He cancelled the sale and had the painting repaired for $90,000. Now he is fighting with Lloyd’s of London over the lost value of the painting. He claims the painting is only worth $85 million now, a loss of $54 million. Lloyd’s has offered to pay the $90,000 repair cost and the $21,000 consultant’s fee for the restoration and increased security needed while the painting was being repaired. Wynn filed a lawsuit against Lloyd’s on January 11, 2007 and a day later, they started negotiating. Does a repaired hole seen only under black light reduce the value of the painting by about 40%? Time will tell. We will never own a painting that valuable and we always wonder how much damage lowers the value of a collectible.