Fine art is something I have always struggled with. You see, I’m the one that, whether watching those art auction shows on cable TV, or attending the auctions they typically have on board cruise ships, is always attracted to the dopey stuff ordinary folk can relate to – you know, peaceful deer in the woods, horses at full gallop, or a room or hallway in delicate pastels. I know it all comes down to personal taste, but the impressionist stuff – distorted people with eyes like flying saucers, or – you know the kind – that $15K thing that looks like someone tossed three cans of paint on a canvas, then played Twister with a gigantic spider, is kinda like the fine art equivalent of John Coltrane‘s music to me. It may be significant, but I just can’t get into it.

Nevertheless, it was with a laugh I read this story about Steve Wynn, the guy responsible for modern-day Las Vegas, the guy who took a foundering Golden Nugget casino and, with the help of Michael Miliken and his junk bonds, paved the way to 21st century Las Vegas by building The Mirage, Treasure Island (now “TI”) and the Bellagio before cashing out and building the magnificent Wynn Hotel and Casino, actually damaged a real bonafide priceless Picasso (“Le Reve”) by accidentally poking a hole in the canvass with his elbow!:

Casino mogul Steve Wynn sued Lloyd’s of London Thursday, saying the insurance company failed to act properly on his demands to pay $54 million in lost value for a Picasso that was damaged when Wynn accidentally poked a hole in the canvas with his elbow.

In 1997, Wynn paid $48.4 million for the painting depicting Picasso’s mistress, Marie-Therese Walter.

Wynn has described the damage to the canvas as a thumb-sized flap and said it was “the world’s clumsiest and goofiest thing to do.”

He damaged the canvas as he showed it to guests, including screenwriter Nora Ephron and husband Nick Pileggi, broadcaster Barbara Walters, New York socialite Louise Grunwald, lawyer David Boies and his wife, Mary, and art dealer Serge Sorokko and his wife, Tatiana.

“The blood drained out of their faces,” Wynn said. “I just turned around and said, ‘Oh, my God. How could I have done this?'”

You see, this is EXACTLY why I try to steer clear of expensive stores and art galleries in general. Sure, what Wynn did was an accident, but it’s accidents like that that The Great White Shank is perfectly capable of doing on any given day and at any given time, whether it be tripping over my feet and causing my drink to fly into some magnificent Van Gogh, or losing my balance and sending that crystal display at Nieman-Marcus crashing to the floor.

I can’t even begin to imagine how awful Wynn must have felt when the Picasso accident happened. It’s just nice to know that even the wealthiest of tycoons in the world can still doing things and be as clumsy as paupers like you and me.