Picasso’s Electrician Charged with Theft

French investigation into Pierre Le Guennec's collection leads to indiction

Written by Tiffany Chaney on June 20, 2011

blue nude 250x300 Picassos Electrician Charged with TheftThe body of Picasso’s works were stashed in a garage for forty years until a letter was written to Picasso’s son, asking about the worth of the collection. This letter was written last November by Picasso’s ex-electrician, Pierre Le Guennec, who claimed the collection had been gifted to him by Picasso and his second wife Jacqueline. It was only recently that Le Guennec was formally indicted with possession of stolen property. Le Guennec will appear before a judge later this month on charges.

According to Var Martin, the Le Guennecs were also gifted with 540,000 francs in 1983. The information was revealed by the Picasso Administration in a formal document. This gift occurs ten years after Le Guennec’s employment as an electrician (1970-1973) with the Picasso family. Inside the collection are never seen before drawings, Cubist works, and a rare painting from the Blue period.

However, Le Guennec is not the only one undergoing investigation. Picasso’s ex-driver, Maurice Bresnu, who himself possessed over a hundred of his employer’s works. Bresnu is Le Guennec’s cousin. Police did retain works from an auction of Bresnu’s own collection this June, but investigation has not lead to any evidence of connection between the cases, except for the obvious and unusual factor of familial relation and stolen goods.

Tiffany Chaney

About the Author: Tiffany Chaney

Tiffany Chaney is a writer, artist and graphic designer. No puppies yet for this North Carolina native. Nursing a cup of coffee, this artist writes about several subjects, favoring cross-genre work in speculative and surreal fiction, imagery rich poetry, and writes about art for ArtCorner.com. Find out more about her at www.tiffanychaney.com.

See all posts by Tiffany Chaney

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