Picasso: auction houses to sell his works in June

The works of Pablo Picasso are certainly the most sought after by collectors all over the world. The last auctions of his paintings have registered impressive records. Only a month ago the work “Fillette à la corbeille fleurie” (‘The girl with a basket of flowers’) painted in 1905 was sold for an exorbitant sum of 115 million dollars to a mysterious buyer. Three years earlier, on the other hand, to acquire the work “Les femmes d’Alger” , the buyer had to pay nearly 180 million dollars.

These are the figures that the main auction houses expect to pocket in the coming days when both Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction off some masterpieces in two separate sales dedicated to the Impressionists and modern art.

It starts on June 19th when one of Picasso’s most sought-after works will go on sale. “Buste de femme de profil (Femme écrivant)” the work dedicated to the lover of the Spanish genius is the highlight of the collection. This is accompanied by two other works by the master and some masterpieces of the protagonists of modern art. The works of Joan Mirò, Claude Monet and Camille Pisarro start from an auction base between three and six million euros. Sotheby’s auction also features two bronze sculptures by Alberto Giacometti “Le chat” and “Buste de Diego” that could beat the record of “Man Pointing” (The man who indicates) sold in 2015 for 142 million dollars, becoming therefore the most expensive sculpture in the world.

Only 24 hours later, Christie’s, the direct competitor of Sotheby’s, replies with “Femme dans un fauteuil“, a 1942 portrait of Picasso’s muse Dora Maar. Great expectations also for the Still Life of Giorgio Morandi, who could break the previous record by breaking the million and a half dollars ceiling, the 2012 award price for another Still Life by the same artist. Among the portraits of the Parisian everyday life of Claude Monet there is also a self-portrait of Amedeo Modigliani at a very young age whose starting price is “only” 700 thousand dollars.

This beginning of summer in London promises to be very hot for the two auction houses eternally in competition. Two sales in June that could significantly affect the turnover of the two giants, which are around 6 billion dollars, moving the equilibrium of the art market from one district to another in the city of London.