Pablo Picasso – A vivid, poignant and intense image of his ‘golden muse’ Marie-Thérèse Walter.

Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale

One of Pablo Picasso’s defining portrait “La Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter)” will  lead the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale, held on February 28 in London.

Held by auction house Sotheby’s, the portrait is offered at auction for the very first time and is one of Picasso’s muses, Marie-Thérèse Walter, his “Golden Muse.” The painting was completed in 1937, a year during which Picasso also painted his monumental masterpiece “Guernica”.

The former belongs to a prolific period of the artist’s career in which his relationship with Marie-Thérèse was complicated by his falling in love with Dora Maar, providing the impetus for a stream of portraits of both of his lovers, according to a statement by the auction house.

“With such a strong appetite for Picasso’s work from across the globe, this defining portrait from a pivotal year in the oeuvre of the most globally recognised artist is the perfect piece to headline our first major auction season of 2018,” commented Helena Newman, Global Co-Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department & Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe.

She added that “It is all the more remarkable to be able to offer a painting of this calibre that has never been seen on the market before.”

The painting will go on display from January 30 to February 2 in Hong Kong, February 6 to 7 in Taipei, February 12 to 14 in New York before going on showcase in London from February 22 to 28.

An exhibition themed on Pablo Picasso’s work in the year 1932, “The Ey Exhibition: Picasso 1932 – Love, Fame, Tragedy” opens March 8 at London’s Tate Modern.

Click here to view other artworks offered at the upcoming Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale.