Imagine if someone nicked over 400 of your Picassos…

Just imagine. You have a huge private collection of Picassos. An art collection inherited from your mum who was Picasso's second wife Jacqueline. You also inherit the massive Chateau de Vauvenargues near Aix en Provence where Picasso lived and is buried. No doubt sacks of euros as well. Like it so far? Well, would you notice if over 400 of your Picasso art works were stolen? That's over 400 mind you…the two zeros are correct. Four hundred.
Catherine Hutin-Blay, Picasso's stepdaughter says a former handyman nicked over 400 of them from her home between 2005-7. When some of the art works popped up for sale on the Paris art market, the doodoo hit the fan. She checked. The Picassos were not there anymore.
An odd job handyman working for the stepdaughter and her neighbour - who is the daughter of Picasso's art dealer - is a suspect. He may have cut himself a spare key and lifted fine art from the neighbour too. But maybe only a couple of hundred from her - so the neighbour couldn't really be expected to notice that obviously…
Strangely, bulk thefts of Picassos are not unique. A couple of years ago his security alarm installer (don't laugh) has been accused by the Picasso family of stealing more than 200 art works worth tens of millions of euros from Picasso's studio just before the artist died.
Luckily Pierre Le Guennec has a perfectly rational reason for his possession of the works. He said Picasso handed him over 250 of his works because he liked the way the electrician installed a security alam at his house (don't laugh).
OK.
You can laugh now.