INTERNATIONAL: It was a case of what not to do with a priceless masterpiece that had been missing for nine years, but Greek Police were all thumbs this week, as they proudly displayed a recovered Picasso that had been stolen from the country’s National Gallery in 2012.
Picasso's “Head of a Woman”, together with another artwork, was finally found on Monday. A day later, the retrieved artworks were being shown off at a media briefing, when Picasso’s painting slid off the display and fell to the ground. A police officer was quick to pick up the painting and put it back on its perch. There was no visible damage, but art critics have slammed police for the casual way in which they treated the painting, not only allowing it to fall in the first place, but then handling the artwork without gloves.
The painting was discovered in a forest on Monday. It was painted by Picasso in 1939 and donated to the people of Greece a decade later. It is worth tens of millions of dollars.
