‘New’ Picasso portrait sells for record £49.8m
A PICASSO has sold for almost £50million, the highest auction price in pounds for a painting in Europe.
The artist’s 1937 portrait of Marie-Therese Walter, known as his “golden muse”, was part of a private collection and had never been on the market before.
The painting Femme Au Beret Et A La Robe Quadrillee was painted the same year as his famous Guernica. It sold for £49.8million at Sotheby’s London on Wednesday.
The previous highest price in pounds paid for a painting in Europe was Rubens’ Massacre Of The Innocents, which went for £49.5million in 2002.
Masterpiece
Thomas Bompard from Sotheby’s called the artwork “one of the greatest portraits by Picasso to appear on the market in recent years”.
He said: “This epitomises the legacy of Picasso as a portraitist of women, with this particular painting encompassing all of the key elements for which he is recognised and celebrated.”
And Harry Smith, executive chairman of Gurr Johns, which bought the artwork for a client, said: “Pablo Picasso is a giant of 20th century art and his work appeals to collectors and art lovers from all over the world.
“The picture of Marie-Therese is a masterpiece portrait.
“It’s appeal lies in the subject, the date, the condition and the fact it’s completely fresh to the market. The art market has a fairly regular supply of Picassos, but it’s rare to see a painting as special as this one.”
Helena Newman from Sotheby’s said: “This depiction of Marie-Therese, painted in the same year as Guernica and the Weeping Woman, reveals Picasso’s mastery of the modern portrait. It represents what is most desirable for a connoisseur and collector of modern art.”
The painting sold as new details of a £7million concrete sculpture designed by Picasso – which was due to be built at the University of Florida, US – were discovered by an art historian.
The 100ft tall artwork was approved the day after Picasso’s death in 1973, but the money needed to build it was not raised. Now a researcher has discovered new details of the project thanks to his discovery of a 1974 audio recording made by Picasso’s collaborator Carl Nesjar.
Nesjar worked with Picasso for 20 years, turning his drawings and models into large sculptures, such as the 36-foot Bust of Sylvette at New York University.
Art historian Kamila Oles, at the University of South Florida, said: “When I realised the reel was Carl Nesjar speaking my jaw nearly hit the floor.”