A ‘disappeared’ painting by Pablo Picasso may have been discovered in the home of a notoriously corrupt Filipino political family as they celebrated their return to power after this week’s election.
Eagle-eyed viewers say the painting – Reclining Woman IV – hung in the living room of Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines, as she congratulated son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos on his election as president on Wednesday.
The painting is believed to be one of hundreds of works of art purchased by the Marcoses using billions looted from family patriarch Ferdinand Sr., who ruled the country as president from 1965 but ended in a brutal dictatorship, which lasted until 1986.
Andy Bautista, the former head of a commission set up to find the Marcos’ stolen wealth, appeared convinced the artwork was real when he posted a picture to Twitter on Thursday.
Joining his enthusiasm was Lauren Greenfield — a director whose 2019 film Kingmaker, about the Marcos family’s attempt to regain power, featured the painting — who quipped, “Picasso has your back!”
But others have expressed doubts about its authenticity and suggested the family could have had a replica made – perhaps in an attempt to troll authorities who are looking for it.
A ‘disappeared’ Picasso painting valued at an estimated £125million has been found at the home of Imelda Marco, mother of new Philippine President Ferdinand Jr
Imelda is known to have owned the painting, which was purchased with assets looted during her husband’s dictatorship in the Philippines
The fact that the family once owned the original is undisputed: Imelda has already been shown with the work of art and can also be seen in the documentation.
But when the PCGG — a government agency set up specifically to recover the billions her family had looted from the country — raided Imelda’s four homes and offices in 2014 to search for the painting, it was gone.
Works by artists such as Michelangelo, Goya, Monet, Braques, Pissarro and Manet are also believed to have been placed in the family vaults.
Imelda and her family have spent decades in political exile, having been forced to flee the Philippines to Hawaii when a revolution toppled her husband’s regime.
But in Monday’s election – which marks the end of a years-long campaign by Imelda to rehabilitate the family name – her son “Bongbong” Marcos was elected on a joint ballot with Sara Duterte, daughter of current President Rodrigo.
Footage of the family partying at Imelda’s flat was released this week by his PR team, leading viewers to claim they spied the Picasso on their wall.
After the sighting, Bautista told Philippine Public TV: “This painting is worth about eight billion pesos (£125 million).
“Now of course we don’t know anything about the quality of this painting, but Pablo Picasso is a master of painting and this is a very valuable piece.”
“I hope the new PCGG officers and the Attorney General’s office can take care of it. Please grab it while there is still time.’
Imelda was last pictured with the artwork in the documentary Kingmaker, but when police tried to confiscate the family’s ill-gotten gains, the building was gone
But such a move is highly unlikely. The PCGG is a government agency, and as such, the new president can shut it down — or strip it of funds and staff, rendering it highly ineffective.
Even before Marcos’ election victory, the agency had recovered only a fraction of the fortune Ferdinand Sr. allegedly stole – hidden in a maze of shell companies and offshore trusts.
A gifted lawyer and World War II veteran, Ferdinand Sr. worked as a prosecutor who tried Japanese war criminals after Imperial Japan’s surrender.
Eventually he went into politics, running for his father’s old seat and serving three consecutive terms in the House of Representatives.
Marcos then began his rise up the political ladder, chairing House committees and becoming spokesman for his party on economic issues.
He won election to the Senate in 1959 and served as minority leader before becoming Senate President in 1963, when the Liberal Party – which he was then leading – took overall control.
In 1965, he ran for and won the presidential race, based largely on now-debunked claims of being the Philippines’ most decorated war veteran.
Initially popular, he oversaw a huge increase in public spending, financed largely by external debt, which led to a spiral of inflation in his later terms.
As his popularity plummeted, Marcos became increasingly authoritarian.
In 1972, he placed the country under martial law following a fraudulent referendum and used emergency powers granted to him to revise the constitution and silence the media.
He also waged a campaign of violence and fear against opponents – both perceived and real – with Amnesty International estimating that at least 3,240 were killed, 34,000 tortured and 70,000 imprisoned during his rule.
Marcos is believed to have started looting the Philippine central bank during the period of martial law and squandered his wealth in a network of offshore accounts and trusts.
Footage from the apartment released on Wednesday as Imelda celebrated her son’s election victory appeared to show the aching back against the wall
According to The Guardian, he was one of the first to use the system on such a large scale and helped create the shadowy network of offshore finance that is said to remain hidden to this day billions in ill-gotten gains.
Deposed by a popular revolution in 1986, he fled to Hawaii, where US Customs registered his arrival in two military transport planes loaded with 23 wooden crates, 12 suitcases and bags, and miscellaneous crates.
Inside were diamonds, ivory statues, freshly printed $15 million bills, and 24 solid gold stones with the inscription “To my husband on our 24th anniversary.”
But those treasures were dwarfed by the loot left in the presidential palace, discovered when revolutionaries stormed it.
Inside they found oil portraits of the family – including a portrait of young Bongbong riding a stallion, a gold crown on his head and clutching a Philippine flag.
Also included was a gold plated hot tub, 15 mink coats, 508 couture dresses and a designer shoe collection of more than 3,000 pairs owned by Imelda.
According to PCGG, the total amount looted from the Marcos family was $10 billion – only a fraction of that was ever recovered.
Bongbong – a veteran of elite schools in Britain and the US – sailed to victory in Monday’s election as a champion of the poor.
He has defended his father’s legacy and steadfastly refuses to apologize or acknowledge the atrocities and looting during the dictatorship.
He is married to a lawyer with whom he has three sons and has stayed away from controversies, including a previous tax conviction and the Marcos family’s refusal to pay a hefty inheritance tax.
Throughout his campaign he stubbornly maintained a rallying cry of national unity.
He denies allegations that he funded a years-long social media campaign that used online trolls to smear opponents and whitewash the Marcos family’s checkered history, and challenged critics to “show me one”.