In an unusual move, Steven Cohen’s art adviser went on the record this week to clarify the timing of Cohen’s purchase of Picasso’s Le Rêve because news of the event had caused such a stir in the press and suggested over-confidence on Cohen’s part that recent troubles with government investigations were behind him:

Sandy Heller, Mr. Cohen’s art adviser, said on Wednesday that the sale was completed in early November of last year, a few weeks before the insider trading cases against SAC Capital entered a more serious phase with the indictment of one of his former employees. The purchase price was $150 million, not $155 million, according to people with knowledge of the transaction.

“The timing was bad,” said Mr. Heller, referring to last week’s reports about the Picasso purchase. “We’re correcting the chronology.”

[…] In late October, Mr. Cohen received a phone call from William Acquavella, the Manhattan art dealer, with news that Mr. Wynn, his longtime client, was finally ready to sell “Le Rêve,” which was hanging in Mr. Acquavella’s gallery on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

“We were at the gallery the next morning,” Mr. Heller said. “In three minutes we had a deal.” […] “We had to step back, take a deep breath and see how the restoration would turn out,” Mr. Heller said. “This is a painting that has haunted Steve for nearly a decade.”

 Suit be Ex-Wife of Cohen’s SAC Revived on Appeal (Dealbook/NY Times)