Erotically charged Picasso sells for $39.8m

Posted November 09, 2012 20:21:51

An erotically charged Picasso oil painting of his mistress alongside tulips and fruit has sold for $US41.5 million ($39.8 million) in New York.

Nature morte aux tulipes, painted in 1932, was the star of Sotheby's Impressionist and modern art sale in Manhattan.

The pre-sale estimate for the work had been between $US35 million and $US50 million.

The painting depicts the head of Marie-Therese Walter, who was Picasso's lover and famous muse, and a suggestive flower arrangement.

Another of the Marie-Therese series, Femme a la fenetre (Marie-Therese), sold for $US17.2 million, inside the $US15-20 million estimate.

Other successes at Sotheby's included $US12.1 million paid for Champ de ble by Claude Monet, well above the $US5-7 million estimate.

However, numerous works failed to find buyers, including Picasso's Plant de tomate, estimated to sell for $US10-15 million and the same artist's Femme a la robe verte, which had been listed at $US6-8 million. Cezanne's La femme a l'hermine, which had been hoped to fetch between $US5 million and $US7 million, also flopped.

On Wednesday, Christie's in New York sold a Monet water lily painting for $US43.8 million and saw a painting by Wassily Kandinsky sell for an auction record of $US23 million.

However, the auction overall was seen as a disappointment with numerous prestigious works not selling.

Next week, the big rival auction houses hold their contemporary art sales.


Topics: painting, visual-art, united-states