Possible Picasso in Pine Bluff

Back in 2012 we met with a Pine Bluff man who claimed he had a drawing that would one day rock the art world...and make him a very wealthy man.

Seven years later has anything changed?

We went to find out.

Several decades ago as a young man James Watson was hunting for treasure at Jefferson county estate sales.

His target: the holy grail of the comic book world. Action Comics #1...the 1938 debut of Superman.

"I was looking for the $275,000 Superman book,” recalls Watson. “I had no idea this would be worth more than that at the time."

The charcoal drawing of Joseph Stalin by Picasso was featured in a communist newspaper in 1953.

Some considered the work in Watson's possession to be a very good reproduction because Watson's is slightly different.

But Picasso created two charcoal Stalin portraits. How does Watson know this? He has visited with Picasso's lover at the time.

"Because she was sitting at the table when Picasso drawed it,” says Watson. “She was with Picasso when she drawed this drawing."

In July of 2017 Wyoming art dealer Gayle Tate, after careful study, concluded that "The subject artwork is an original charcoal drawing by Pablo Picasso. The signature is original by the hand of Pablo Picasso."

Watson paid Wendy Carlson, an expert document examiner in Texas, to compare the signature on Watson's drawing to other Picasso works. She concluded that "...the same person who authored the known Picasso signatures also authored the signature of Picasso on the questioned document."

And Watson says one final, crucial detail that proves the work to be a Picasso...the drawing is full of hidden symbols.

"Picasso was not just an artist,” says Watson. “Picasso was a mathematician."

Speaking of math...if Watson is right and he has a real Picasso...what might it be worth?

Because of the hidden symbols and messages the Antiques Roadshow folks judged this work to be more of a manuscript than a drawing, One appraiser set a value of up to $350,000...but Watson believes it could be worth ten times that amount. But regardless...much more than the $20.00 he paid.

Air date: April 5th, 2019