Man purchases Picasso online

Louis Knickerbocker, a 38-year-old environmental contractor from Newport Beach, Calif., phoned the Los Angeles Times to identify himself as the purchaser of a $39,999 Picasso drawing that was available last week on costco.com.

Since last March, the site has been offering fine art on consignment from dealers, and this is the most expensive piece sold to date.

With permission from Knickerbocker, a Costco spokeswoman confirmed the sale. Knickerbocker says he bought the Picasso sight unseen.

“I was running late, driving the kids to school, and I heard about it on (the) radio, and I called my wife on my cell phone and told her to get online and go to costco.com and buy that thing,” Knickerbocker says.

“It’s an investment for the future. I’m not getting much return on the money market. … I figured I’d get more return on a piece of art.”

While Knickerbocker owns a few works by lesser-known and local artists, he says: “This is my first real expensive piece.”

Knickerbocker, who says he charged the Picasso on his American Express card, has never been a serious art collector but says, “Now I’ve got the bug.”