An extraordinary group of Pablo Picasso’s multi-faceted œuvre from the collection of the artist’s Granddaughter, Marina Picasso will go under the hammer in early February. It will offer an intimate glimpse into Picasso’s private world. The scope of the selection presented is truly remarkable, spanning every decade of the artist’s career and covering an eclectic variety of subjects and media.
Picasso’s command over every artistic medium he turned his hand to – from ceramics to sculpture, drawing, printmaking and painting – was absolute, and the present group of works reveals the extent of his creative genius to superb effect. This auction will offer a rare and exciting opportunity for collectors and connoisseurs to acquire works by the 20th century’s most important artist with an impeccable provenance.
“This wonderful collection presents an intimate view of the artist in his moments of creation, as though we are standing at Picasso’s shoulder, able to observe his creative process as he reinvented himself as an artist over and over again. Picasso’s drawings and unique ceramics allow one to get right up close to the artist at the very genesis of the development of many of his core elemental themes.” Helena Newman, Co-Head of Impressionist & Modern Art – Sotheby’s ‘A private, personal journey through a lifetime of creative innovation’
The collection includes 187 works with 70 ceramics and terracotta sculptures and 106 works on paper. Estimates ranging from £4,000 to £180,000 are expected to fetch a combined total of £6.9–9.8 million / $10.5–14.8 million. This stand-alone sale will be held the morning of 5 February 2016 in London, following Sotheby’s Impressionist, Modern & Surrealist Art Evening and Day sales on 3 and 4 February. A further press release will follow in due course, and details are available on our website. WORKS ON PAPER Picasso’s skills as a draughtsman are exhibited to outstanding effect within the works on paper presented in this collection. The sheer variety of subject matter and style is astonishing, ranging in date from the last years of the nineteenth century to the final decade of Picasso’s life. Early studies are juxtaposed with the angular beauty and ground-breaking geometric planes of the Cubist period, whilst traditional landscape and portrait studies contrast with the bold lines and vibrant energy of the later drawings.
CERAMICS & SCULPTURE Following the success of Sotheby’s 100% sold ‘white-glove’ auction Picasso Earth & Fire: Unique Ceramics from the Collection of Marina Picasso in London in June 2015, we are delighted to offer a further selection of unique ceramics in Picasso in Private. Works from every stage of Picasso’s production – from the earliest pioneering works of 1947-48 to mature examples from the 1960s are included. A variety of distinctive forms are represented, including brightly decorative plates and magnificently curved and shaped vases, as well as small sculptures moulded into fantastical human and animal forms.
Picasso in Private Works from the Collection of Marina Picasso 05 FEBRUARY 2016 | 10:00 AM GMT | LONDON