PARIS (AP) — Hidden from public view for more than 80 years, a brightly colored portrait of Picasso’s longtime muse and partner Dora Maar sold at auction Friday for 32 million euros (about $37 million), including fees. Although it exceeded expectations, it was still far short of the artist’s most expensive work ever sold at auction.
Bust of a Woman Wearing a Floral Hat (Dora Maar), painted in July 1943, depicts Maar wearing a colorful floral hat. Mahr, an artist and photographer herself, had been Picasso’s partner and muse for nearly seven years, but that relationship was coming to a painful end. The piece was purchased in 1944 and has not been on the market since then, remaining in a family collection.
The painting, part of Picasso’s “Woman with a Hat” series, was auctioned at the Drouot auction house in Paris. Auctioneer Christophe Lucien described the final bid to the buyer, who was present, as a “huge success” and a very emotional moment. He said the price was 32,012,397 euros, including the hammer price of 27 million yen plus the buyer’s fee, which not only far exceeded expectations, but also the highest price ever sold at a French art auction this year.
Lucien called the painting “part of the love story” between Picasso and Marr, albeit a bittersweet one. She met the artist when she was 29 years old and quickly became his muse and model for his works, including “Guernica”, among others. He then left her with a young Françoise Giraud, and she lived an increasingly reclusive life, dying at the age of 89.
Their story “wasn’t that simple,” Lucien said, adding that the painting was created at the end of it. “You can see that she was holding back tears as she realized that Picasso had left her.”
At a preview this week, Picasso expert Agnès Sévestre Barbet was amazed at how clear the portrait remained.
“I have a painting in exactly the same condition as when I left the studio,” she said. “It wasn’t varnished, which means it has all the raw materials. It’s a painting where you can feel all the colors, the whole color range.”
“It’s a picture that speaks for itself,” she added. “Just looking at it is enough. It’s so expressive that you can see all of Picasso’s genius.”
Sebestre-Barbe pointed out that until now, the work had only been seen in black and white photographs. “From this photo, I couldn’t have imagined how colorful and truly amazing this painting would be.”
Auctioneer Lucien said before the sale that the work had attracted great interest around the world.
“This work is being talked about in all the world’s capitals with strong art markets, from the United States to Asia and of course through all the major markets in Europe,” he said.
Although it sold better than expected, it was far from the most expensive Picasso work ever sold at auction. In 2023, the artist’s famous Woman with a Clock, depicting another of his muses, Marie-Thérèse Walter, sold for $139.4 million, making it the second most expensive Picasso ever sold at auction. The most valuable was $179.4 million paid in 2015 for a version of “Les Femmes d’Alger” (“The Women of Algiers”).
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Associated Press writer Jocelyn Noveck contributed from New York.
