Masterpieces by Picasso sell for £80m
Eleven Pablo Picasso artworks have sold at auction for nearly 110 million US dollars (£80 million) after spending years on display at a Las Vegas hotel.
The Sotheby's auction took place at the MGM Resorts-owned Bellagio hotel and casino, where the pieces featured in its Picasso restaurant.
The company said the sale, which exceeded its high estimate with all of the works sold, would help it improve the diversity of its fine art collection.
The highest price was fetched by the 1938 portrait Femme Au Beret Rougeorange, which depicts Picasso's muse and lover Marietherese Walter, which sold for 40.5 million dollars (£29 million) following what auctioneers described as a "prolonged bidding battle".
It exceeded its high guide price by some 10 million dollars.
The two-metre tall Homme Et Enfant sold for 24.4 million dollars (£17 million). The 1959 piece is regarded as an important example of Picasso's late career work.
Included in the sale were nine paintings and two ceramic pieces by the Spanish artist, who died in 1973, spanning some six decades, including Nature Morte Au Panier De Fruits Et Aux Fleurs from 1942 and Le Dejeuner Sur L'herbe from 1962.
The Bellagio ballroom featured a recreated version of the Sotheby's auction room for the sale, which was hosted by the house's chairman and auctioneer Oliver Barker.
Brooke Lampley, Sotheby's chairman and worldwide head of sales for global fine art, said: "When we announced this unique collaboration with MGM Resorts a few months ago, there was an immediate buzz about this special auction.
"Tonight's tremendous results only underscore the singular nature of this event, and the importance of creating bespoke experiences that cater to furthering our commitment to existing clients, as well as opening doors for a whole new audience to engage with Sotheby's."
The MGM Resorts collection was started more than 20 years ago by US property developer and casino mogul Steve Wynn, former owner of the Bellagio.
The sale was part of an effort by the hotel to add more works by women, minority artists and those from emerging countries to the collection.
The names of the buyers have not been revealed.
The record for a Picasso is $179.4m, which was paid for his painting The Women of Algiers in 2015.
In May a Picasso sold for more than $100m, marking the fifth work by the artist to sell for a nine-figure sum.
Woman Sitting Near a Window (Marie-therese) sold for $103.4m (£73.5m) at Christie's auction house in New York.
The auction house had estimated the painting would sell for $55m.
The impressive sales figure have been seen as a sign of the art market's vitality, which will be a source of relief for the industry after an uncertain year amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Other artists to have sold multiple works above the $100m threshold include Jackson Pollock, Vincent van Gogh and Francis Bacon.