Will the Picasso Stay? Judge Will Decide

By Yeonhwa Lee

Yeonhwa Lee is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). 

Aby J. Rosen, a New-York real estate mogul, co-founded RFR Holding LLP, which owns the Seagram Building housing the famous Four Seasons restaurant. The New York Landmarks Conservancy, headed by president Peg Breen, owns a 19-by-20-foot theater curtain, “Le Tricorne,” painted by Pablo Picasso. What do Mr. Rosen and Ms. Breen have to do with one another? The famed painting of Ms. Breen’s conservancy hangs on the wall of Mr. Rosen’s Four Seasons restaurant. 

A legal battle has ensued between the two as Mr. Rosen wishes to take down the painting to make repairs on the wall while Ms. Breen claims such a move would damage a priceless Picasso. 

“Le Tricorne,” was painted by Picasso in 1919 for Serge Diaghilev, the “impresario of the Ballets Russes.” An unframed painted theater curtain, it has hung on the wall that connects the two dining rooms of the Four Seasons since 1959, appropriately naming the corridor as “Picasso’s Alley.” Some assert that the piece is not mere decoration but an integral part of the experience of visiting the Four Seasons and the Seagram Building. [1] 

The New York Landmarks Conservancy believes that the artwork, which it has owned since 2005, is old and fragile. They claim that moving the Picasso curtain will inflict “irreparable damage.” [2] According to the conservancy, even an art mover employed by Mr. Rosen admitted that the curtain could “crack like a potato chip.” [3] Mr. Rosen does not contend the brittleness of the painting; rather, he seems to have other priorities.

According to Andrew Kratenstein, Rosen’s attorney, the panes of the limestone wall on which “Le Tricorne” hangs have moved a couple inches, presumably due to steam and moisture from the kitchens of the Four Seasons on the other side. James Rowland, lawyer for the New York Landmarks Conservancy, argues that further examination is necessary, as other tiles similarly affected in the kitchen show no signs of such damage. RFR Holding, according to Mr. Rowland, has declined to monitor the wall using more advanced technology such as movement trackers and baroscopes. [4]

Could this mean that Mr. Rosen is exaggerating the urgency of the need for repairs? Perhaps, and the conservancy certainly believes so. But whether in the near or far future, the New York Landmarks Conservancy will eventually have to face the possibility of moving the painting.

For now, though, the law and the public seem to be on board with the New York Landmarks Conservancy. In February, the conservancy won a temporary restraining order forbidding the removal of the Picasso due to the possibility of irreparable damage. Mr. Rosen had planned for a moving company to remove the painting in the early morning of February 9 so as not to disturb regular business and customers of the Four Seasons, an arrangement ruling Justice Matthew Cooper found “absurd.” [5]

And on April 2, Justice Carol Edmead ruled at the Supreme Court of the State of New York to stand by the temporary restraining order issued earlier. Further hearings will involve more rigorous expert testimony. If the New York Landmarks Conservancy is successful, they will win a preliminary injunction—followed by a permanent one if the streak continues. [6]

Mr. Rosen, who has acquired the bad name of “Picasso hater” and is accused of having called the curtain a “schmatte” (Yiddish for “rag”), claims that the situation has been blown out of proportion: “They’ve elevated this to something that it shouldn’t be. It’s about a landlord’s rights.” [7] In the most technical sense of the law, this may be true.

In fact, Justice Edmead began the hearing by quoting the Four Seasons lease that stipulated that any repairs might be ordered “as landlord may deem necessary or desirable.” Mr. Kratenstein asserted that RFR Holding saw the proposed repair as both necessary and desirable. [8] To Mr. Rosen’s frustration, these reasons have been insufficient for the landlord to have decisive power in this case – because the painting is a Picasso, and a fragile one at that.

So, is it about the landlord’s rights? Or does a Picasso warrant an exception? Justice will decide.

[1] Goldberger, Paul. “Why Picasso’s “Le Tricorne” Must Remain Hung at the Four Seasons.” Vanity Fair. VanityFair.com, 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. <http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2014/02/Picasso-four-seasons>
[2] Bagli, Charles. “Fate of a Picasso at the Four Seasons Hangs on a Court Case.” The New York Times. NYT.com, 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/28/nyregion/fate-of-a-picasso-hangs-on-a-court-case.html?_r=1>
[3] Reuters. “N.Y. judge to rule on Picasso work.” TribLive. TribLive.com, 6 Apr. 2014. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.  <http://triblive.com/usworld/nation/5900367-74/picasso-rosen-restaurant#axzz2yFcOMxMI>
[4] Duray, Dan. “‘You’re Alive’: Judge Continues Temporary Restraining Order on Movement of Four Seasons Picasso.” Gallerist NY. Galleristny.com, 2 Apr. 2014. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. <http://galleristny.com/2014/04/judge-continues-temporary-restraining-order-on-movement-of-four-seasons-picasso/>
[5] Marsh, Julia and Emily Smith. “Judge bars moving Picasso painting from Four Seasons.” New York Post. NYPost.com, 9 Feb. 2014. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.  <http://nypost.com/2014/02/09/judge-bars-moving-picasso-painting-from-four-seasons/>
[6] Duray, Dan. “‘You’re Alive’: Judge Continues Temporary Restraining Order on Movement of Four Seasons Picasso.” Gallerist NY. Galleristny.com, 2 Apr. 2014. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. <http://galleristny.com/2014/04/judge-continues-temporary-restraining-order-on-movement-of-four-seasons-picasso/>
[7] Bagli, Charles. “Fate of a Picasso at the Four Seasons Hangs on a Court Case.” The New York Times. NYT.com, 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/28/nyregion/fate-of-a-picasso-hangs-on-a-court-case.html?_r=1>
[8] Duray, Dan. “‘You’re Alive’: Judge Continues Temporary Restraining Order on Movement of Four Seasons Picasso.” Gallerist NY. Galleristny.com, 2 Apr. 2014. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. <http://galleristny.com/2014/04/judge-continues-temporary-restraining-order-on-movement-of-four-seasons-picasso/>


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