Billionaire Renames Picasso Painting After His Nightclub

British billionaire Richard Caring, owner of several restaurants and nightclubs in London, purchased Picasso's "The Girl With a Red Beret And Pompom" at auction last year for £20 million. He has renamed the painting "Annabel" after his nightclub in Mayfair, where he plans to display it once renovations are complete. The move has sparked outrage among art historians and critics, who deem the context inappropriate. However, Guardian critic Jonathan Jones defended Caring's right to rename the work, noting that artists only began titling their works relatively recently and that many paintings were named by dealers and collectors. The painting, created in 1937, belongs to a series dedicated to Marie-Thérèse Walter, Picasso's lover and muse. That same year, Picasso painted Guernica. A related work, "Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter)," will be auctioned by Sotheby's in London on February 28.