Picasso painting held in private collection sells for $31 million at Paris auction

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Picasso painting held in private collection sells for $31 million at Paris auction

9:35 CAT | 05 Nov 2025

FILE - Employees adjust the painting "Bust of a Woman with a Flowered Hat (Dora Maar), 1943" (Buste de femme au chapeau a fleurs (Dora Maar), 1943) by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) on display before its auction at Drouot auction house in Paris, France, September 16, 2025. [File photo: Reuters/Benoit Tessier]

A painting by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, believed to be depicting his muse and partner Dora Maar, fetched 27 million euros ($31.49 million) at an auction in Paris on Friday, October 24, 2025.

The work, titled “Bust of a Woman with a Flowered Hat (Dora Maar) 1943”, was acquired by a French family in 1944 and remained in their private collection for decades until its heirs decided to sell it.

The sale price including fees was 32 million euros, a spokesperson for the Drouot auction house said. The buyer was in the auction room, but was not identified.

The canvas had never been shown to the public before the auction and the only proof of its existence had been a 1944 picture of the painting, art experts said.

“It’s without a doubt the most moving work of Picasso that involved his muse, because he was about to leave her (Dora Maar) for (French painter) Francoise Gilot,” auctioneer Christophe Lucien said.

“And through this portrait, we see a woman who holds back her tears. So it’s lucky for an auctioneer to have a piece of art history before their own eyes.”

Art expert Agnes Sevestre-Barbe said the heirs decided to offer the painting for sale as it could not be physically divided among them.

A painting by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, titled ‘Bust of a Woman with a Flowered Hat (Dora Maar) 1943,’ sold at a Paris auction. It was acquired by a French family in 1944 and remained in their private collection until its heirs decided to sell it https://t.co/Y4HhRk7rU9 pic.twitter.com/VMGJVMy2gK

— Reuters (@Reuters) October 25, 2025