Picasso's ex-electrician, wife on trial over disputed cache – Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports

By LIONEL CIRONNEAU and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press

GRASSE, France (AP) - Would Pablo Picasso have donated 271 works to an electrician who worked for him for a few years in southeast France?

A French court began to contemplate that question on Tuesday at the start of a three-day trial of Pierre Le Guennec and his wife, Danielle.

They claim that the artist, or his wife, gave them the 180 lithographs, collages and paintings and 91 sketchbook drawings around 1970 when Le Guennec began working as a general handyman for Picasso in his homes on or near the French Riviera.

Heirs of Picasso and a state prosecutor describe the couple's account as ridiculous. They argue that the master had a habit of autographing and signing works that he gave away, and had never given away such a massive trove. One Picasso family lawyer says the estimated worth is 60 million to 100 million euros ($68-113 million).

Le Guennec quietly kept the works in a garage for decades. Produced between 1900 and 1932, they have never been displayed publicly. If convicted for concealing stolen goods, the Le Guennecs could face up to five years in prison and fines of 375,000 euros ($424,000) or more - up to half the value of the loot.

Picasso, who died in 1973, left no will. But he did leave behind at least 70,000 works that have over the years been the subject of theft, forgery, legal disputes and secret sales. In recent weeks, news reports have emerged about efforts by his granddaughter, Marina Picasso, to quietly sell some of the works that she inherited, in part to purge painful family memories.

But an unknown trove like the Le Guennecs' is extraordinary.

The trial was shaping up largely as a case of "he said, she said" because some potential witnesses have died, hard evidence of theft 40 years ago may be hard to come by, and even the state's own case doesn't mention who may have stolen it.

Tuesday's session was devoted to questioning the two defendants and projections of the works - with cameras barred from the courtroom. Son Claude Picasso, the estate's administrator, was on hand.

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Picasso's ex-electrician, wife on trial over disputed cache - Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports