Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations

Why did a man who bought a real Picasso sketch try to pass it off as a fake?

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Rachel Martin. Investigators say a man bought a real Picasso sketch but tried to pass it off as a fake. The unidentified collector was at an airport in Spain coming from Switzerland. And he had the 1966 Picasso work called "Trois Personnages" in his luggage. He didn't declare the piece, which is worth nearly half a million dollars to customs. So an attempt to save a few bucks turned into an international incident. The artwork has been seized and the investigation continues. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.