Rare Picasso Work Disguised As Fake Sketch Gets Seized At Ibiza Airport
From hidden paintings to stolen loot, the tumultuous art world is seeing yet another rare discovery, this time in the form of a rare sketch done by Pablo Picasso.
Immigration stopped a traveler from Switzerland who was holding onto an artwork, which was later confiscated. The unidentified visitor had failed to declare the sketch in customs and tried to pass it off as a cheap imitation that had no value.
He initially produced a fake invoice that stated the artwork was only worth 1,500 Swiss francs (US$1,534). However, when authorities conducted a proper search on the person, they found an invoice from a gallery in Zurich that hinted at its authenticity.
Spanish officials had been previously notified by the Swiss to keep an eye out for a passenger who may be smuggling art into Spain.
While he was apprehended in early July, details of the case have only just been released after the artwork has been confirmed to be an original.
The art piece was inspected by museum officials at the Evissa Contemporary Art Museum in Ibiza, who corroborated that the Zurich gallery invoice was real. It is indeed a 1966 genuine sketch from the famed artist, titled Trois personnages, and is valued at 460,000 Swiss francs (US$461,000).
The sketch will undergo further investigation by art experts. Meanwhile, the attempt to bring it into Spain will be treated as a smuggling attempt, according to the Spanish Tax Agency.
🖼ï¸âœˆï¸La @guardiacivil y Aduanas de la Agencia Tributaria han intervenido por contrabando en el aeropuerto de Ibiza el dibujo ‘Trois personnages’ (1966) atribuido a Picasso.
— Ministerio de Hacienda y Función Pública (@Haciendagob) July 18, 2022
La obra se encontraba en el equipaje de un viajero procedente de Suiza.https://t.co/AKqI1UMHpn pic.twitter.com/kE60UzTg3U
[ via CNN and Artnet News, cover image via Ministerio de Hacienda y Función Publica]
