A vibrant Picasso portrait of his longtime muse and partner Dora Maar, hidden from public view for more than eight decades, sold at auction for 32 million euros (approximately $37 million) including fees on Friday. The sale at Paris's Drouot auction house exceeded expectations, though it fell well short of the artist's most expensive works ever sold at auction.
The painting, titled "Bust of a Woman with a Flowered Hat (Dora Maar)," was created in July 1943 and depicts Maar wearing a brightly colored floral hat. Maar, who was both an artist and photographer, had been Picasso's partner and muse for about seven years when this portrait was painted, during a period when their relationship was coming to a painful end. The artwork was purchased in 1944 and had remained in the same family collection ever since, never appearing on the art market until now.
Auctioneer Christophe Lucien described the final sale to a buyer present in the auction room as "an enormous success" and "a very emotional moment." The final price of 32,012,397 euros, which included buyer fees added to the 27-million euro hammer price, not only surpassed initial estimates but also became the highest amount paid at auction this year for any artwork in France. The painting is part of Picasso's "Woman in a Hat" series, making it particularly significant within the artist's body of work.
Lucien characterized the painting as "a little piece of the story of love" between Picasso and Maar, though he acknowledged it was "a bittersweet one." Maar was just 29 years old when she first met the renowned artist and quickly became his muse, serving as the model for "Guernica" among other masterworks. However, Picasso later left her for the younger Françoise Gilot, and Maar lived an increasingly reclusive life until her death at age 89. "Theirs was not a very simple story," Lucien explained, noting that the painting came at the end of their relationship. "You see that she was containing tears because she understood that Picasso was leaving her."
At a preview earlier in the week, Picasso specialist Agnès Sevestre-Barbé expressed amazement at how vivid the portrait has remained after all these years. "We have a painting that is exactly as it was when it left the studio," she said. "It wasn't varnished, which means we have all its raw material, all of it. It's a painting where you can feel all the colors, the entire chromatic range." She emphasized that the work "speaks for itself," adding, "You just have to look at it – it's full of expression, and you can see all of Picasso's genius."
Sevestre-Barbé revealed that previously, the work had only been seen in a black-and-white photograph, making its colorful revelation all the more striking. "We couldn't imagine from this photo that this painting was so colorful, so amazing, really," she noted. The painting's exceptional preservation, combined with its emotional significance and rarity, contributed to the intense global interest it generated.
Before the auction, Lucien reported that the work had attracted "huge interest across the globe," explaining that "it's being talked about in all the world capitals with a strong art market, from the United States to Asia, and of course through all the major European markets." This international attention reflected both the painting's artistic merit and its unique backstory as a long-hidden masterpiece.
While the sale price significantly exceeded expectations, it remained far from the record prices achieved by other Picasso works at auction. In 2023, the artist's famous "Femme à la montre" (Woman with a Watch), which portrayed another of his muses, Marie-Thérèse Walter, sold for $139.4 million, making it the second most valuable Picasso ever sold at auction. The highest price ever paid for a Picasso work remains $179.4 million, which was paid in 2015 for a version of "Les Femmes d'Alger" (Women of Algiers).
The successful auction of this rediscovered Picasso portrait not only represents a significant moment in the art market but also provides a poignant glimpse into one of the most complex and influential artistic relationships of the 20th century. The painting serves as both a testament to Picasso's artistic genius and a touching record of a turbulent love affair that profoundly influenced some of the most important art of the modern era.
