Painting by Picasso to undergo repairs after visitor to the Met accidentally falls onto it

Visitor collides with Picasso work at Met in NYC

NEW YORK — A notable painting by Picasso will undergo repairs after a visitor to the Metropolitan Museum of Art accidentally lost her balance and struck it.

The museum says the accident caused a vertical tear of about 6 inches in the lower right-hand corner of “The Actor,” painted by the artist during the winter of 1904-1905.

The museum says the damage didn’t affect the “focal point of the composition.”

Curatorial and conservation staff assessed the painting’s condition following Friday’s accident when a visitor attending a class struck the artwork in one of the museum’s galleries.

The nearly 6-by-4-foot canvas depicts an acrobat posed dramatically against an abstracted backdrop.

The museum has about 250 works by Picasso in its collection.

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art: www.metmuseum.org