Culture

Picasso’s Works Auctioned for Almost US$110 Million

After being displayed for 20 years in a Las Vegas hotel, 11 Picasso paintings have been auctioned for nearly US$110 million.

Oct 26, 2021 | By Sarah Ridzwan
picasso restaurant bellagio hotel
Image: Sotheby’s

Eleven Pablo Picasso artworks have been auctioned for a total of nearly US$110 million after being on display for more than two decades in a Las Vegas hotel.

The pieces were owned by MGM Resorts and were featured in the Bellagio Hotelā€™s Michelin-starred French and Spanish eatery, Picasso. The restaurant is inspired by the artistā€™s life and work.

Coinciding with Picassoā€™s 140th birthday, it was organised by Sothebyā€™s. It is its first evening marquee sale to take place outside of New York.

The auction featured nine paintings and two ceramic pieces by the Spanish artist, who died in 1973.

picasso woman in reddish orange hat
Image: Sotheby’s

The star of the sale was the 1938 “Femme au bĆ©ret rouge-orange,” or “Woman in a reddish-orange hat,” a 1938 portrait of Picasso’s lover and muse Marie-ThĆ©rĆØse Walter. It was initially expected to sell between US$20 million and US$30 million and was eventually auctioned off for US$40 million.

Another large-scale portrait was the ā€œHomme et Enfantā€ or ā€œMan and Childā€ that sold for US$24.4 million. Sothebyā€™s said the piece reflected his later spontaneous style and his role as a father. 

picasso paintings
Homme et Enfant, left, and Buste d’homme, right. Image: Sotheby’s

Also included in the sale was ā€œNature Morte au Panier de Fruits et aux Fleursā€ or ā€œStill life with fruit basket and flowersā€, which was painted by Picasso during the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1942. It was sold for US$16.6 million. 

Picasso’s less high-profile works also exceeded the auction estimates, such as the 1962 painted terracotta ā€œLe DĆ©jeuner sur l’herbe” ā€” inspired by Edouard Manet’s 1863 painting of the same name ā€” selling for over four times its highest valuation.

picasso still life with fruit basket and flowers
Image: Sotheby’s

The record for a Picasso painting is US$179.4 million, which was paid for his painting ā€œThe Women of Algiersā€ in 2015. 

Some works revealed intimate details of Picassoā€™s life and work such as a ceramic tile showing the window of his workshop titled ā€œLa Californieā€, in Cannes which overlooked the sea.

In an August press release, MGM said the auction would help diversify its art collection.

The collection was started more than 20 years ago by Steve Wynn, the former owner of Bellagio Hotel. 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.

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