Picasso Masterpiece of "Golden Muse" Sold for $139 Million

The painting 'Woman with a Watch' by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso was auctioned at Sotheby's in New York for $139 million (£113 million). The canvas depicting the lover and muse of the renowned artist was purchased by an anonymous buyer.

This information was reported by the BBC.

The artwork had been valued at $120m before it went to auction. However, in the end, the lot was sold for a final sum of $139 million. This made 'Woman with a Watch' the second most expensive painting by Pablo Picasso.

Previously owned by the renowned art collector Emily Fisher Landau, who acquired it in 1968, the painting became part of her collection of around 120 artworks. After her death, the collection began to be auctioned off. The identity of the buyer of 'Woman with a Watch' remains unknown, as it was acquired by an anonymous buyer.

The painting 'Femme a la Montre' ('Woman with a Watch') depicts Marie-Therese Walter, a French model, lover, and muse of the Spanish artist, who was the subject of many of Picasso's paintings. Marie-Therese is also depicted in the 1932 artwork 'Nude Reclining Woman,' which was sold for $67.5 million at an auction in 2022.

Picasso, 45 years old at the time, first met Walter when she was only 17. They later entered into a secret relationship while the artist was married to the Ukrainian ballerina Olga Khokhlova.

It's worth noting that the most expensive Picasso’s painting is 'Les Femmes d'Alger' ('The Women of Algiers'), sold for a record $179 million at Christie's in 2015.

Over his eight-decade artistic career, Picasso experimented with numerous styles and themes, but his primary style remained 'Cubism.' In total, the artist created around 150,000 works and became one of the most prominent artists of the 20th century.

Earlier, The Gaze reported that a painting by the famous illustrator N.C. Wyeth, Ramona, was found by an American woman in a thrift store. It turned out that the work, which she bought five years ago for $4, was actually worth about $191,000.

Also, the day before, it became known that a rare menu for first-class passengers of the sunken Titanic liner was put up for auction in the UK with the estimated value being £60,000.