Europe 1 with AFP 2:00 p.m., October 24, 2021
The auction was organized by Sotheby's in Las Vegas.
The painting "Woman with a red-orange beret" sold for $ 40.47 million.
"Man and Child" sold him for $ 24.39 million.
Eleven works by Pablo Picasso belonging to the American hotel-casino group MGM Resorts, including a portrait of his French muse Marie-Thérèse Walter, brought in 108.87 million dollars (93.5 million euros) during a auction organized on Saturday by Sotheby's at the famous Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas known for its art collection.
The jewel of this sale, two days before the 140th birthday of the Spanish painter, was the famous painting "Woman with a red-orange beret", one of the last portraits made by the artist of Marie-Thérèse Walter, her muse and lover. from the 1930s. The work, estimated between 20 and 30 million dollars, sold for 40.47 million.
Picasso painted the mother of his daughter Maya in January 1938 when he already had an affair with photographer Dora Maar, during "one of Picasso's most inspired and productive periods," according to Sotheby's.
Iconic portraits
Two other iconic portraits executed by the painter during the last years of his life were sold, "Man and Child" for $ 24.39 million and "Bust of a Man" for 9.45 million - either below l initial estimate of 10 million.
Presented by the painter in his 1970 exhibition at the Palais des Papes in Avignon (South of France), these portraits were made between January 5, 1969 and February 2, 1970.
Other works donated at this auction included ceramics, drawings and still lifes.