Curtain Call

For 55 years Picasso’s curtain painting Le Tricorne has hung in the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York. That is until this past Sunday night.


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. The painting depicts spectators socializing after a bull fight. 

Forty years after Picasso painted it, Philip Johnson incorporated Le Tricorne into his designs for the world renowned Four Seasons Restaurant, which is located in the Seagram Building, a 38-story skyscraper that is itself an  historic classic of modern architecture. Ever since the Four Seasons opened in 1959, Le Tricorne has hung in the entryway, where it could be seen not only by patrons but by passers-by.


On Sunday night, September 7, the New York Historical Society in consultation with the New York Landmarks Conservancy used a crew of more than 20 workers, under the direction of Lead Technician Tom Zoufaly of Art Installation Design, to carefully remove the fragile piece created by the Spanish master almost a century ago. Also on  hand for the delicate operation were: Sarah Lowengard, the conservator who has cared for the Curtain since it was given to the Conservancy in 2005,  the chief conservator of the Historical Society Peg Breen and Conservancy Technical Director Alex Herrera. After riggers erected an 18-foot-tall scaffold, the painting was carefully rolled onto a 20-foot-long, 2-foot-diameter, foam-covered, reinforced cardboard tube specially designed for the job. Then the canvas, weighing between 300 and 500 pounds, including the roller — was nestled in a specially built steel cradle and trucked to the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in Massachusetts for a gentle vacuuming and cleaning and repairs to some small tears in the canvas.


Once the restoration is completed the Picasso Curtain will head to its new home at The New-York Historical Society— where it will be able to be seen by an even wider segment of the public.


To view the actual de-installation of Le Tricorne click here.