In terms art, Pablo Picasso is one of the greatest and most influential figure of the 20th century. Picasso pieces still remain to be one of the most sought-after works today. At a New York City auction, Picasso’s Women of Algier’s became the most expensive piece of artwork to sell at an auction.
On Monday, Christie’s New York, a private auction house, hosted a Looking Forward to the Past art auction. At the event, it only took 11 minutes for a client on the phone with Brett Gorvy, International Head, Post-War and Contemporary Art, to agree to purchase Picasso’s Les femmes d’Alger, Version O from 1955 for $179,365,000. The Women of Algier’s artwork became the highest piece of painting to sell at an auction, surpassing the previous record $142.4 million, also at Christie’s New York.
Just minutes following the Women of Algier’s auction, Picasso’s other 1938 painting Buste de Femme (Femme a la Resille), managed to receive the third highest price of the night, selling for $67,375,000. The fourth highest selling artwork was Mark Rothko’s No.36 (Black Stripe) from 1958, which sold for $40,485,000.
The pieces for the auction were selected based on their connection to the theme of artistic innovation inspired by the past, according to Christies.com.
“From the moment that we announced the sale, global collectors embraced the concept and were prepared to consign masterpieces to the auction,” said Jussi Pylkkänen, Global President of Christie’s. “Over 70 percent of the works included in the sale have been shown in major museum exhibitions and the works themselves spanned over 100 years of Modernism, beginning with Monet’s Le Parlement of 1901 to Urs Fischer’s wax figure of Rudolf Stingel of 2011.”
Other artists’ masterpieces auctioned at the event were Chaim Soutine’s Le Boeuf (circa 1923), which sold for $28,165,000; Peter Doig’s Swamped which was auctioned for $25,925,000; Paris Polka by Jean Dubuffet (1961), which sold for $24,805,000; Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1982), which auctioned for $13,605,000; plus much more.
Watch the auction results for Picasso’s Les femmes d’Alger below.
(Photos via Christie’s New York)
