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Picasso to lead Sotheby’s sale of Impressionist and Modern Art

Pablo Picasso - Femme assise près d’une fenêtre

Pablo Picasso: “Femme assise près d’une fenêtre”, 1932
Estimate: £25-35 million

Picasso to lead Sotheby’s auction Sotheby’s London Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on Tuesday 5th February 2013 will be led by a monumental 1932 portrait of Picasso’s ‘golden muse’ Marie-Therese Walter (est. £25-35 million).]]>

January 18, 2013, source: Sotheby’s

Pablo Picasso’s stunning and monumental depiction of Marie-Thérèse Walter, Femme assise près d’une fenêtre of 1932 is one of the artist’s most iconic images and part of the defining series which introduced his ‘golden muse’ to the public eye. The story of Picasso’s first encounter with Marie-Thérèse – in 1927 when she was seventeen years old – and their subsequent love affair, is among the most compelling in 20th – century art history. Picasso’s young lover Marie-Thérèse became a primary emblem of love, sex and desire in 20th century art.

Claude Monet’s monumental Nymphéas avec reflets de hautes herbes (est. £12-18 million), which dates from 1914-17, is a powerful testament to the artist’s enduring vision and creativity in his mature years. Possibly one of the most iconic images of the Impressionist movement, the significance of the theme of waterlilies in the development of modern art is now fully recognised. This painting led to the celebrated Grandes decorations, now in the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, which are according to renowned dealer and scholar Daniel Wildenstein, ‘the crowning glory of Monet’s career, in which all his work seemed to culminate’.

Sotheby’s will also offer a group of works from the renowned Collection of Miriam and Ira D. Wallach, a highlight of which is Femme revant de l’evasion (est. £8-12 million), an outstanding painting by Joan Miró which now comes to the market for the first time in over 50 years. Theappearance of this work at auction follows the record price achieved for a Surrealist work of art, and a work by Joan Miró at Sotheby’s London Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in June 2012.

From the Leopold Museum in Vienna, Sotheby’s will offer one of the most important groups of work on paper by Egon Schiele ever to come to the market. The three works carry a combined estimate of £9-12 million and are led by the exceptional Liebespaar (Selbstdarstellung mit Wally) / Lovers (Self Portrait with Wally), 1914 (est. £6.5-8.5 million).

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Picasso to lead Sotheby's sale of Impressionist and Modern Art