Pablo Picasso’s Femme assise près d’une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse) achieved US$103.4 million at Christie’s live-streamed 20th-century auction in New York Thursday night, marking the first time a painting has sold at auction for more than US$100 million in nearly two years.
Christie’s follow-up to its new 21st century art sale, which brought in $211 million, had 50 lots and a pre-sale estimate in excess of $345 million. Covering works made between 1880 and 1980, the auction made a grand total of $481.1 million, with just one lot unsold.
Pablo Picasso’s 1932 portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter seated in profile by a window carried the highest estimate of the week. The painting was last seen at a Picasso exhibition at Tate Modern in 2017, where the lender was named as the Earth, Light Foundation in Vaduz, Switzerland. The seller of the work purchased it at Sotheby’s in 2013 for $45 million with premium, against an estimate of $25 million. The elusive owner made a modest gain, having accepted a guarantee and an estimate nearing $55 million.
The bid for the Picasso started at $55 Million with four bidders from London and New York sparring for the work for 20 minutes. It was eventually won by a bidder on the phone with Vanessa Fusco, Christie’s head of Impressionist and modern art in New York, for a final price of $103.4 million.
Another Picasso titled Dora Maar was among the more highly priced lots, with an estimated price of $15 million–$20 million estimate. The painting belonged to the Nahmad family of art dealers, who bought it in 1984 for $390,000 (without premium) and showed it in their Picasso exhibition in London in 1988. The painting was purchased by a Hong Kong bidder below the low estimate for $17.1 million with premium, after a short contest.
Close behind was Mark Rothko’s 68-inch-high untitled indigo and dark green abstraction from 1970. The painting came from Paul and Bunny Mellon collection. Included in Bunny’s estate sale in 2014 with a $15 million low estimate, it had been pursued by dealer David Nahmad and advisor Nancy Whyte before selling above estimate for $39.9 million with premium. The buyer was whispered to have been venture capitalist Sassan Ghandehari and his wife Yasmin, who are based in London. With a $40 million estimate and a guarantee, it sold below estimate for $38 million.