A colorful portrait of his ‘golden muse’ Marie-Thérèse Walter, painted by Pablo Picasso in 1932, was auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York on Wednesday evening for 139.4 million dollars, more than 130 million euros. This makes it one of the ten most expensive works of art ever auctioned.
The canvas was the highlight of the collection of Emily Fisher Landau, an American who died in March at the age of 102. After a spectacular jewelry heist in her New York apartment in 1969, Landau decided to collect modern art with the insurance money. In interviews she later called the burglary the “best thing that ever happened to her.”
Art market under pressure
To the Emily Fisher Landau Auction was eagerly awaited. Due to high interest rates and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, these are economically uncertain times and the art market is under pressure. Things went remarkably well on Wednesday. The evening auction of the Landau collection, in which 31 works of art were offered, ended with a proceeds of 406.4 million dollars. Sotheby’s had previously predicted a revenue of between $344 and $430 million. Another day auction will follow this Thursday with 89 other works by Landau. It is already the highest yield ever for a female collector’s collection.
The Picasso, Femme à la montre, is one of the many portraits Picasso made of Marie-Thérèse Walter, his secret love for many years. The then 45-year-old Spanish artist was married to the Ukrainian dancer Olga Khokhlova, the mother of his son Paulo, when he first met the only 17-year-old artist Walter in 1927 on the sidewalk in front of the Parisian department store Galeries Lafayette. Just before Picasso painted this portrait in 1932, their relationship had been made public.
Another notable result Wednesday evening was the $18.9 million for the canvas Gray Stone II (1961) by Agnes Martin, an auction record for the American minimalist artist. The auction house had expected a maximum proceeds of $8 million.
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