Art connoisseurs have their eyes perked and ears alert at the announcement of one of Picasso’s most influential paintings up for auction, by none other than Sotheby’s. The composition, entitled ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon’ dates back to 1909, a pivotal year for contemporary art. The harlequin, a frequent motif of the famed artist was thought to be his alter ego, and the composition if filled with a luminous pallet of jade, amber, and rose. For the last 50 years, this painting has been unseen, housed as a prized possession in the famed surrealist Enrico Donati’s home; he originally purchased the painting in the early 1940’s for $12,000 from Daniel Henry Kahnweiler, a legendary Picasso dealer and cubist, and it is now estimated to bring over $30 million at auction. Donati passed away earlier this year at the age of 99, and the composition has been cosigned by his estate. The tour of this marvel will begin in just a few days, October 3rd, in London, then will continue onto the Moscow Museum of Modern art from the 16th to the 19th of October, and will finally end it’s journey at Sotheby’s in New York from October 29th to November 3rd, the day of the auction. This painting is thought to be one of the most highly coveted of his works, Emmanuel Di-Donna of Sotheby’s has been quoted saying it was one of the greatest cubists works to be sold on the market, adding, “International collectors have not been presented with such a fantastic opportunity to compete for one of the great Picasso portraits since Sotheby’s sale of Dora Maar au Chat.
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September 30, 2008LuxuryIndex.com Boat of the Week: 2008 “Martha Ann” 70m
