ABOVE: Detail from Picasso’s Drawing Arles, bought on Costco.com for US$39,999.99 last year. Picasso’s daughter is now claiming the drawing is not genuine.

Perhaps it was always destined to end in a crying match. You may remember last July when megaretailer Costco started selling Picasso artworks on its website, essentially acting as a broker for a Florida art dealer named Jim Tutweiler. Costco’s expertise being deep discounts on Chinese mountain bikes and cases of Slovakian mineral water, the move into original Picasso drawings was perplexing. Well, as it turns out, the plan has hit a few snags: namely, Picasso’s daughter thinks two of those drawings are dodgy, and alleges that the certificates of authenticity that accompanied them are forgeries. Remember to check those return policies.

The best part of the New York Times’ coverage of this story is its description of Louis Knickerbocker, the unfortunate consumer who purchased one of the drawings in question. The description of Mr. Knickerbocker in the first passage is priceless: driving in his big SUV, listening to talk radio, and then phoning his wife by cellphone—while driving—to get her to rush to the nearest computer to charge the Picasso to his credit card. And who says there’s no life left in the American Consumer? Anyway, there’s been much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments among everyone involved in the sale, and Costco assured Mr. Knickerbocker that, as with all Costco merchandise, he could return the Picasso drawing. Can’t make this stuff up.

LINK: New York Times > It’s Costco, but Is It Picasso? Art Sale in Doubt