A $55 Million Picasso Painting Could Signal The Art Market Is Bouncing Back


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Topline

A portrait by Pablo Picasso of his lover is projected by auction house Christie’s to bring in a stunning $55 million when it hits the auction block next month, one of a handful of pricey pieces that indicates the high-end art market looks to be on the rebound after a pandemic slump. 

Key Facts

Femme assise près d’une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse), 30 October 1932 is a stylized portrait of Picasso’s mistress and muse Marie-Thérèse Walter painted in 1932, widely regarded by art experts as one of the seminal years of the Spanish artist’s career.

Sotheby’s announced last week it would auction off Jean-Michel Basquiat’s larger-than-life masterpiece Versus Medici and estimated it could fetch as much as $50 million next month. 

A Basquiat painting broke a record just weeks ago when his painting Warrior sold for $42 million in Hong Kong, marking the most expensive artwork by a Western artist to ever sell in an Asian market.

A piece by the world’s most popular street artist Banksy also beat the artist’s record last month when his Game Changer, which honors Britain’s National Health System, sold at auction for $20 million, with all proceeds going to the NHS.

It’s a welcome change for the art market after the pandemic triggered a slump in sales, especially in high-end art — According to an Artnet report, Impressionist and Modern art sales above $10 million shrank by more than 40% last year, while the overall market fell by 25%.

Besides a Francis Bacon triptych that brought in $84.5 million, no artwork at auction last year fetched a price higher than $33.3 million, both lower-than-usual figures as wealthy art collectors held back bids amid economic uncertainty.

Big Number

$92 million. That’s the price of the most expensive painting to sell at auction so far this year, a rare portrait by Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli titled Young Man Holding a Roundel. It was a new record for the artist.

Key Background

Femme assise près d’une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse), 30 October 1932 has not been publicly displayed since 2018, when it was part of the wildly popular Picasso 1932 exhibition held in Paris and London, according to Christie’s. Before it is auctioned off, it will go on display in Christie’s showrooms in Hong Kong, London and New York. Picasso and Walter had an affair that lasted more than a decade, despite Picasso’s marriage to wife Olga Khokhlova. Walter is believed by art historians to have modeled for more than a dozen of Picasso’s paintings. Another Picasso portrait of Walter, Femme au Béret Mauve, is expected to fetch $15 million at auction next week.

Further Reading

What 2020’s Most Expensive Painting Says About The Art Market (Forbes)

$42 Million Basquiat Becomes Most Expensive Western Artwork To Sell At Auction In Asia (Forbes)

A New Banksy Record: Painting Honoring Britain’s Health Care Sells For $20 Million (Forbes)

Rare Sandro Botticelli Portrait Sells For Record-Breaking $92 Million (Forbes)

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