Topline
What might be a lost painting by Pablo Picasso was spotted at the home of Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines and the widow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos–who allegedly embezzled billions of dollars from the Philippines before he was ousted–after her son Ferdinand Marcos Jr. won the presidential election this week.
Imelda Marcos is seen in her apartment in Manila in 2007 with a gallery of paintings including a … [+]a Picasso, seen at upper right.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
After his victory in this week’s election, the family released images of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. celebrating with his mother at her home, and Picasso’s “Reclining Woman VI” appears on the wall of a sitting room above a sofa.
The painting was one of eight targeted by the Philippines’ government in a 2014 seizure of the Marcos’ assets, but the one seized by the corruption court was later found to be a replica, according to Andres Bautista, the former chairman of the agency tasked with recovering the Marcos family’s ill-gotten wealth
A 2019 documentary about the Marcos family called The Kingmaker also captured footage of the Picasso after the 2014 seizure, director Lauren Greenfield confirmed.
Key Background
Before Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was ousted from the presidency after a popular uprising in 1986, he is believed to have embezzled as much as $10 billion from the nation’s coffers used to fuel a lavish lifestyle for himself and his family by famously buying massive troves of shoes and jewelry for Imelda, and acquiring an art collection worth millions, according to the Philippines’ graft and corruption court. Most of the wealth has not been recovered. During his 21-year-regime, his administration had 70,000 peope detained on subversion charges, and killed and tortured thousands more, according to Amnesty International. Imelda was convicted of corruption charges in 2018, though has launched an appeal. Despite his family’s notorious reputation, unofficial results show Ferdinand Marcos Jr. won this week’s election by a landslide after a years-long campaign to rehabilitate the family’s image that critics said relied on mass disinformation.
Further Reading
Son Of Ex-Dictator Ferdinand Marcos On Cusp Of Winning Philippines Presidential Race (Forbes)
‘Lost’ Picasso spotted in Imelda Marcos’s home after son’s election win (The Guardian)
Who is ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr and why are some Filipinos nervous about his family’s return? (CNN)
