Photo taken by Denise Truscello, Oliver Barker Sotheby’s auctioneer and chairman during the auction of Picasso
In a special Sotheby's event in Las Vegas, former casino mogul Steve Wynn's Picasso collection fetched $109 million. For the occasion, Sotheby's held an action-packed event in Las Vegas.
If the epidemic has taught us anything about the art market, it's that auction houses will adjust to any situation—and do it quickly—in order to sell their most valuable trophies and feed an apparently insatiable hunger for blue-chip art.
This weekend, Sotheby's set up a pop-up salesroom in Las Vegas on Saturday night to sell retired casino mogul Steve Wynn's Picasso collection, which famously hung in the Bellagio restaurant. The Picassos were purchased by MGM Resorts as part of its $4.4 billion acquisition of Wynn's Mirage casino in 2000. Wynn resigned in 2018 after being accused of sexual harassment, which he denies.
The sale was brief but action-packed, with all 11 Picasso items selling quickly, earning it the title of "white glove" auction. It brought in $109 million, beating the pre-sale forecast of $100 million. Three of the lots were backed by third parties, and all of them were guaranteed.
Photo taken by Denise Truscello, Gregoire Billault Sotheby’s chairman during the auction of Picasso
Sotheby's sent some of its finest professionals to the event, including auctioneer Oliver Barker of London, who oversaw the sale. He began by stating that Sotheby's has "gone on the road with its legendary New York saleroom."
Femme du béret rouge-orange, a brilliant 1938 painting of the artist's muse Marie-Thérèse Walter, was the top lot by far, selling for $40.5 million after a lengthy bidding war. Homme et enfant (1969), which sold for $24.4 million (in the center of the $20 million to $30 million estimate), was the next painting to sell. Meanwhile, Nature morte au panier de fruits et aux fleurs (1942), one of two still lifes on offer, sold for $16.6 million.
The opening lot, La Fenêtre de l'atelier La Californie (1956), a ceramic tile painting depicting a scene from Picasso's studio at his villa in Cannes overlooking the sea, garnered 20 bids. The ultimate price was $214,200, over four times the low estimate. Barker started some of the auction's earliest lots, including this one, at a fairly low $10,000 beginning price, but furious bidding swiftly drove up the prices.
Tête d’homme barbu (back) (1956) Pablo Picasso, Sotheby’s
Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe (1962) received $2.1 million from 18 bidders, more than four times its $500,000 high estimate. According to Sotheby's, it is the only ceramic depicting this subject matter, molded from the artist's original printing plate for Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, d'après Manet, a series of prints completed in 1962.
Tête d'homme barbu (1956), a primitive-looking two-sided terracotta sculpture, too prompted fierce bidding, selling for $239,400 against a high estimate of $70,000. The piece has been auctioned at least five times since 1980, at Christie's and Sotheby's in New York and London, respectively. It sold for $28,000 (£17,250) in 1994 at Sotheby's London, but it only sold for $11,000 in 1986.
Sotheby's also emphasized the fact that the sale took place on the artist's 140th birthday, October 23, prompting writer Greg Allen to tweet: "hbd picasso, your most worst works still sell for $240,000."
MGM Resorts has been redefining its public art collection, expanding its focus on diversity and inclusiveness, according to a statement from Sotheby's. The auction house said that the sale was the largest fine art auction ever held in Las Vegas, as well as the first time Sotheby's held an evening sale outside of its New York saleroom.
Buste d homme (1969) Pablo Picasso, Sotheby’s
After the auction, Brooke Lampley, the auction house's chairman and head of sales for global fine art, said the results highlight "the singular nature of this event, and the importance of creating bespoke experiences that cater to furthering our commitment to existing clients, as well as opening doors for a whole new audience to engage with Sotheby's."
Selena Mattei