NEW YORK (AP) – A Picasso painting damaged when a woman lost her balance and fell on the canvas last week will be repaired in time for an exhibition of the artist's works in April, the Metropolitan Museum of Art said this week.

'The Actor', a painting from Picasso's rose period, will be restored at the museum's conservation laboratory, the Met said.

The accident has also led museum director Thomas P. Campbell to request a review of relevant policies and procedures, spokeswoman Elyse Topalian said. The museum described the damage as an irregular six-inch tear to the lower right-hand corner of the painting. Conservation and curatorial experts "fully expect" that the restoration "will be unobtrusive", the museum said in a statement.

The artwork is nearly six by four feet and depicts a standing acrobat in a pink costume and blue knee-high boots striking a pose against an abstracted backdrop. The restoration will be done in the coming weeks, and the piece will be displayed as planned in an exhibition of 250 Picasso works drawn from the museum's collection, from April 27 to August 1, the museum said.

The accident occurred in a second-floor gallery of early Picasso works when a patron participating in one of the museum's art classes lost her balance and fell on the canvas, the museum said. She was one of 14 people in the guided group. It happened during regular visiting hours when other visitors were in the gallery. People who attend the art classes typically roam through the museum in a group stopping in front of works of interest.