A Qatari sheikh, Picasso's censored breasts and the west’s confusion over Islam

The media were horrified that Picasso’s nudes might be locked away by a conservative Middle Eastern collector – but the unfounded story only serves to highlight our hypocrisy

Picasso’s Women of Algiers (Version O) is the painting that just keeps on giving to news outlets. The world record sale of this late Picasso daub for £116 million has started a story that just won’t die. The latest twist, at the end of last week, was the buyer’s identity: reportedly, the secret billionaire purchaser was Qatar’s Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.

That, it seems, was empty speculation. Christie’s has denied the story. The Telegraph has removed its report. What’s fascinating, though, given the apparent lack of a factual basis to the buyer’s unmasking, is how the flaky story was interpreted.

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