Woman Falls Into a Picasso

A woman at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York lost her balance and fell into a Picasso Friday, putting a six-inch tear in the canvas' lower right-hand corner. The unidentified lady was taking an adult-education class at the time of her fumble, and luckily missed the focal point of the rare Rose Period piece, and was uninjured. A statement from the Met said that the conservation staff "fully expects that the repair—which will take place in the coming weeks—will be unobtrusive," and that it will be fixed in time for the Picasso in the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition opening April 27. The painting, titled The Actor, is of a wandering acrobat posing theatrically.