Couple on trial over 271 ‘stolen’ Picassos

10 February 2015, 3:51 pm

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A former electrician and his wife who kept 271 works of art by Picasso in their garage for close to 40 years go on trial in France, accused of possessing stolen goods.

Pierre le Guennec, now in his 70s and retired, says the world-famous artist and his wife Jacqueline gave him the oil canvases, drawings and Cubist collages when he was doing work on the last property they lived in before Picasso died in 1973.

But some of the artist’s heirs, including his son Claude, suspect otherwise and filed a complaint against the couple, who were charged in 2011.

The trial in the southeastern city of Grasse, which is likely to be closely scrutinized by the art world, is expected to last three days.

— AFP