Costly Rip in Steve Wynn’s Picasso Blamed on Contractor’s Gaffe

  • Lawsuit says paint roller rod fell, tore hole in masterpiece
  • Earlier Picasso mishap was billionaire casino magnate’s fault
Pablo Picasso’s Le Marin in 2018.Photographer: Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images

There’s a new fight brewing over who’s to blame for the hole that was put in a Picasso owned by casino magnate Steve Wynn as the painting was about to be auctioned two years ago.

According to a lawsuit, a rip in the canvas of “Le Marin,” a 1943 self-portrait, was the fault of a contractor who left equipment in a dangerous place in a gallery hallway -- a mistake that allegedly turned a $100 million masterpiece into $80 million of damaged goods.