'It's pretty incredible': Priceless painting on display in Moncton

Picasso original on display at Moncton Museum ‘Lamp and Cherries,’ a Picasso original, is on loan to the Moncton Museum until January.

It's not a common sight.

A priceless painting from Pablo Picasso, one the greatest artists of all time, right here in the Maritimes.

‘Lamp and Cherries’ from Picasso’s abstract period is currently on display at Resurgo Place as part of the Moncton Museum’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

Lawren Campbell, the museum’s culture and heritage coordinator, said it’s pretty neat coup to have the work of art here.

But it’s not the first time.

Campbell said ‘Lamp and Cherries’ was part of a travelling exhibit in 1973 and now it's back, on loan from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

The Picasso has it's own room to create an ambience and there's no doubt the post Second World War painting is being properly taken care of.

“We're a museum, so we do have security,” said Campbell. “There's cameras. There's proximity detectors, so if you get too close to it an alarm will go off. An audible alarm that you can pretty much hear throughout the building.”

It's also encased in high quality glass to protect it from vandalism and UV light.

"Some of the best glass that I've ever seen, on this painting. A lot of people have come and gone and thought, 'Well that's odd that it has no glass,' it actually has glass. It's just very, very good quality glass,” said Campbell. “I really have to try and find a reflection on that glass. You can see every paint stroke, every detail. It's pretty incredible.”

A wonderful sight for art lovers and for those who stumbled upon greatness like Serge Levesque who was visiting Moncton from Toronto.

“I think it’s cool. I didn’t expect that when I came here,” said Levesque. “When somebody told me there was a museum here I thought, ‘OK that's something I'm going to do today. I didn't know there was a Picasso here until a few minutes ago. It’s definitely a neat thing to see.”

The painting, which is worth millions, will be on display at Resurgo Place until January 7.

But there’s more to see during the “With Love, Moncton Museum” 50th anniversary exhibition.

Albert the Albertosaurus dinosaur skeleton is also on view to the public.

It was last here for a few months in 1985 and with help from Ontario’s Thunder Bay Museum, it’s back too.

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