Discovery of an "Exceptional" Unknown Painting by Picasso Estimated to Be Worth Millions of Euros in Paris
On Thursday, the "Drouot" auction house in the French capital, Paris, unveiled an exceptional and previously unknown painting by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, depicting one of his most famous mistresses and sources of inspiration, ahead of its sale with an initial estimated price of eight million euros (9.5 million dollars).
The painting, titled "Bust of a Woman with a Pink Hat," dates back to July 11, 1943, and embodies the face of the French model, painter, and poet Dora Maar, who was one of the most prominent figures in his artistic life. Maar appears in the painting, which measures 80x90 centimeters and is executed in oil colors, "with a sad yet harmonious face wearing a patterned hat," during a period when Picasso was abandoning her for a younger artist, Françoise Gilot.
In this context, Picasso expert Agnès Sire, who attended the unveiling of the work, explained that this painting "was not known to the public and had only been exhibited in the studio of the great Spanish painter in Paris," considering it "exceptional to a great extent and representing a threshold in the history of art and Picasso's history."
For his part, auctioneer Christophe Lucian from the "Drouot" house stated that the value of the artwork is estimated "at around eight million euros, which is an initial price likely to rise."
The painting's ownership dates back to August 1944, when it was purchased by an art-collecting amateur, who is the grandfather of the current owners who are now offering it for sale.
It is worth noting that Dora Maar was the most important model and muse for Picasso, around whom approximately 60 artworks revolve. This auction comes at a time when sales of Picasso's paintings are an important indicator of the state of the global art market, which has seen a decline in recent years.
According to data from the consulting firm "Artprice" in March, the total value of sales reached 223 million dollars in 2024, which is nearly a third of the amount of 597 million dollars spent on the works of the Spanish artist in the previous year.
