There is a row in NY NY rightnow regarding this painted curtain by Picasso back in his early life. The owner of the Restaurant wants to remove the curtain, however, the art society of NY is against it, as it has been hanging there since the 50’s and is very very fragile.

The painted curtain, “Le Tricorne”, is a 19-foot-tall canvas that Picasso painted in 1919 for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. It was originally used as a curtain for “The Three-Cornered Hat,” a now-classic ballet composed by Manuel de Falla and choreographed by Léonide Massine for which Picasso designed the sets and costumes. John Richardson, Picasso’s biographer, considers the décor for the ballet to be his “supreme theatrical achievement,” and the curtain is a priceless relic, one of the last surviving souvenirs of the most influential ballet company of the 20th century.

Forty years after Picasso painted, Philip Johnson incorporated “Le Tricorne” into his plans for the Four Seasons Restaurant, which is located in Mies van der Rohe’s Seagram Building, a 38-story skyscraper that is itself a classic of modern architecture. Ever since the Four Seasons opened in 1959, “Le Tricorne” has hung in the entryway, where it can be seen not only by patrons but by passers-by. The row regarding this painted curtain seem to be in the wish of the restaurant’s owner to remove the art work. Read more