PICASSO ARTWORKS SELL FOR NEARLY R1.6 BILLION

A Las Vegas hotel has played host to 11 Pablo Picasso artworks for more than 20 years. On Saturday, the world-famous Bellagio Hotel auctioned the paintworks with the hope of improving the diversity of its fine art collection. It hopes to include more work by women, minority artists and artists from emerging countries.

The 11 artworks were featured in the Picasso Restaurant inside the hotel. The world-renowned Picasso collection was started by Steve Wynn, the former owner of the Bellagio Hotel.

The BBC reports that the auction featured nine paintings and two ceramic pieces by the Spanish artist, who died in 1973. The collection spans more than 50 years of artistic output.

On Saturday, the highest price of the evening was paid for the painting Women in a Red-Orange Beret. The painting, completed in 1938, features Picasso’s lover and inspiration, Marie-Therese Walter. It sold for just over R601 million.

The identities of the different buyers have not been revealed yet.

The record for a Picasso is $179.4 million (almost R3 billion), which was paid for his painting The Women of Algiers in 2015, reports the BBC.

Image credit: Indian Express