A painting by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, believed to depict his muse and partner Dora Maar, sold for 27 million euros ($31.49 million) at an auction in Paris on Friday.
The work, titled “Bust of a Woman with a Flowered Hat (Dora Maar), 1943”, was acquired by a French family in 1944 and remained in their private collection for decades, until their heirs decided to sell it.
The sale price, including fees, was 32 million euros, said a spokesperson for the Drouot auction house. The buyer was in the auction room but was not identified.
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The canvas had never been shown to the public before the auction, and the only proof of its existence was a 1944 photo of the painting, art experts said.
“It is, without a doubt, Picasso’s most moving work that involved his muse, because he was about to exchange her (Dora Maar) for (French painter) Françoise Gilot,” said auctioneer Christophe Lucien.
“And through this portrait, we see a woman holding back her tears. So it’s fortunate for an auctioneer to have a piece of art history before his own eyes.”
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Art expert Agnes Sevestre-Barbe said the heirs decided to put the painting up for sale because it could not be physically divided between them.
