BEWITCHED - BEWITCHED DIRECTOR WITNESSES PICASSO CATASTROPHE

BEWITCHED DIRECTOR WITNESSES PICASSO CATASTROPHE

BEWITCHED director NORA EPHRON has written of the "terrible" moment she saw a US casino mogul elbow a hole in the middle of a PABLO PICASSO masterpiece. Las Vegas magnate STEVE WYNN was showing off LE REVE (THE DREAM) to guests at his office last month (SEP06) when he accidentally struck it with his right elbow. Wynn, who suffers from an eye disease affecting peripheral vision, had just finalised the sale of the 1932 painting to an art collector for $139 million (GBP77 million) when the accident happened. Ephron writes on her blog site, "At that moment, his elbow crashed backward right through the canvas. There was a terrible noise. "Smack in the middle was a black hole the size of a silver dollar. 'Look what I've done' he said. 'Thank goodness it was me.'" Wynn will now keep the painting, which he bought in 1997, and repair it, his spokeswoman said.