A painting Pablo Picasso, ‘Woman sitting by a window (Marie-Therese)’ sold for 103.4 million dollars at Christie’s in New York.
The painting, which was completed in 1932, was sold for 90 million; dollars, which rose to 103.4 million dollars when fees;and commissions were added. The work, titled ‘Femme Assise Pres d’Une Fenetre (Marie-Therese)’ in Spanish, was sold after 19 minutes of bidding. Meanwhile, the auction house, Christie’s had estimated the painting would sell for $55m.
According to reports, the impressive sales figure is a sign of the art;market’s viability, which will be a source of relief for the industry after;an uncertain year amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bonnie Brennan, who is the President of Christie’s America, said the success of;the auction “signals a real return to normal, and also a message ;that the art market is really back on track”.
It also confirms the continuing significance and popularity of;works by Picasso, who was born in 1881 and died in 1973.
The painting, which depicts Picasso’s young mistress and muse, Marie-Therese;Walter, was acquired only eight years ago at a London sale for 44.8 million; dollars, less than half the price it sold for during the auction.
Fifth work by Picasso to sell for 100 million dollars
It is worth noting that this auction marked the fifth work by;Picasso to have sold for more than 100 million dollars.
Picasso is one of a very small number of artists to have sold multiple works;above this threshold, alongside Jackson Pollock, Vincent van Gogh, and Francis Bacon.
The record for a Picasso is 179.4 million dollars, which was paid for;his painting ‘The Women of Algiers’ in 2015. The last painting to fetch more than 100 million dollars; was Claude Monet’s 1890 work, ‘Meules’, which reached 110.7 million dollars in New York in 2019.
This is the first time in two years that a work has broken the 100-million-dollar;mark since Claude Monet ‘Meules’ painting reached 110.7million dollars at Sotheby’s, also in New York.
It can be recalled that on January 1, 2019, a group of Pablo Picasso artworks entered the public domain in the United States. According to a report by ‘The Art story’, “A small but significant selection his art work of will be completely free for re-use and publication of any sort”.
That aside, Pablo Picasso was the most dominant and influential artist of the first half of the 20th century. He is associated with pioneering Cubism and alongside Georges Braque, he also invented collage and made major contributions to Symbolism and Surrealism.
He saw himself above all as a painter, yet, his sculpture was greatly influential, and he also explored areas as diverse as printmaking and ceramics.
Finally, he was a famously charismatic personality and his behavior has come to embody that of the unconventional modern artist.
Read also: Kanye West’s prototype ‘Yeezys’ expected to become the most expensive sneakers ever sold
