ISSAQUAH, N.Y., March 17 (UPI) -- Two Picassos offered for sale by discount giant Costco may be fakes.
The New York Times reports Pablo Picasso's daughter, Maya Widmaier-Picasso, says the signed certificates of authenticity for both works are forgeries.
A crayon drawing titled "Drawing Arles" sold online for $39,999.99. Another drawing, "Picador at a Bullfight," offered on Costco's Web site earlier this week for $145,999.99, has been withdrawn from sale.
Costco has a separate fine-art division that sells works online and through occasional shows around the country. A spokeswoman told The Times the chain would investigate the case of the dubious Picassos, and the painting disappeared from the Web site soon after that telephone call.
Louis Knickerbocker, who bought the first drawing, remembers telling his wife, "Worst-case scenario, we can always return it."
It looks like he will be doing just that.
