PICASSO SHOW: ECONOMIC BOON FOR SEATTLE ART MUSEUM

A recent exhibition of Picasso’s works was very beneficial to the Seattle Art Museum, whose finances were in fragile shape, according to Scott Sunde of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The show, “Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris,” was the most successful in the history of the museum. It drew 405,000 visitors and pushed SAM membership to a record of more than 48,000 households.

According to a study by William Beyers, a geography professor at the University of Washington, the exhibition, which ran from October 8, 2010–January 17, 2011, had an economic impact of $66 million, including $58 million in the city’s King County. About $16.1 million of that amount would not have been spent had the show not been at SAM. Beyers estimated that the show helped to support 936 jobs, $29.1 million in labor income, and $3.1 million in tax revenue.