A student viting New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art halved the value of a Pablo Picasso to £40million - after stumbling into it and causing a rip. The female student who will not be named, made a 6in tear in the lower right-hand corner of the painting. It is estimated that the painting can be fully repaired, leaving just a small line, but because of the damage, the value of the painting, previously estimated at £80 million will never recover and is now estimated at £40 million. It is a lot of money when you consider that she just lost her balance during the art class which can happen anywhere to any of us. Collectors are not really interested in painting or any objects if they have been repaired. The most valuable works of art are always in the state of origin, as intended or left by the artist.
Museum officials will not identify the student and they have confirmed that the 105-year-old painting will be fixed in time for the museum's Picasso exhibition in April.