A painting by Pablo Picasso has sold for more than $100m – marking the fifth work by the Spanish artist to sell for a nine-figure sum.
Woman Sitting Near a Window (Marie-Therese) sold for $103.4m (£73.5m) on Thursday at Christie’s auction house in New York.
That figure comprises $90m for the painting itself, with fees and commissions on top, Christie’s said.
The auction house had estimated the painting would sell for $55m.
The work, titled Femme Assise Pres d’Une Fenetre (Marie-Therese) in Spanish, was sold after 19 minutes of bidding.
Art market health
The impressive sales figure is a sign of the art market’s vitality, which will be a source of relief for the industry after an uncertain year amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Bonnie Brennan, president of Christie’s America, said the success of Thursday’s auction “signals a real return to normal and also a message that the art market is really back on track”. (BBC)