The Citizen (Gauteng)

Picasso and Degas break sale records

-

New York – A sculpture by Edgar Degas sold on Thursday for $41.6 million (about R675 million) at Christie’s in New York, the highest price paid at auction for a work by the French artist, while a bronze by Pablo Picasso also broke a record.

The Degas sculpture is a delicate bronze with a brown patina depicting a young ballerina in a muslin skirt with a ribbon in her hair.

It is not the original, which is on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, but a cast made by Adrien-Aurelien Hebrard 10 years after the 1917 death of the impression­ist.

The sculpture that sold on Thursday was one of 12 pieces from the collection of Anne Bass, an American businesswo­man who died in 2020.

Among her collection were two paintings by American expression­ist Marc Rothko and three works by Claude Monet.

Christie’s also announced that Picasso’s Tete de femme (Fernande) became the artist's most expensive bronze ever sold at auction, at $48.48 million.

The Spaniard held the record for the most expensive work of 20th century artwork ever sold at auction until Monday night, when an iconic portrait of Marilyn Monroe by American pop artist Andy Warhol brought in $195 million.

 ?? ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa