Picasso art tops $108m

ELEVEN masterpieces by Pablo Picasso have fetched $108.9m at a Sotheby’s auction in Las Vegas.

The works went under the hammer at the weekend at the Bellagio hotel and casino, known for its extensive art collection, ahead of what would have been the Spanish painter’s 140th birthday.

The jewel in the crown of MGM Resort’s auctioned collection was Femme au beret rouge-orange (Woman with a red-orange cap), of his muse Marie-Therese Walter, which sold for nearly $40.5m after a starting price was estimated at $20-30m.