Picasso Painting Unseen for 80 Years Heads to Auction in Paris

An oil painting by Pablo Picasso, hidden from the public eye for more than eight decades, will go under the hammer in Paris next month.

Titled “Bust of a Woman in a Flowery Hat,” the 1943 portrait depicts French photographer and painter Dora Maar, Picasso’s muse and lover, wearing a vivid pastel hat of green, blue, and yellow. 

Despite the bright palette, her expression conveys concern, a reflection of both their strained relationship and the grim backdrop of Nazi-occupied Paris.

“This canvas is of major historical and artistic importance, all the more as it remained unseen for over eighty years,” said art expert Agnès Sevestre-Barbé.

The work was acquired in 1944 by a private collector and has stayed in the family since. It has never been publicly exhibited or sold, according to auction house Lucien Paris.

The painting is expected to fetch at least $9.45 million when it goes to auction on October 24, though experts believe it could surpass that figure.

Dutch art historian Arthur Brand described the portrait as somber, noting it “gives a more sad impression” than earlier depictions of Maar. 

“Picasso probably was worried he would never be able to sell or exhibit again, so maybe his own sadness is also reflected in this painting,” he told CNN.

Picasso famously immortalized Maar in numerous works, including “Weeping Woman” (1937), “Portrait of Dora Maar” (1937), and “Dora Maar au Chat” (1941).

Born Henriette Theodora Markovitch in 1907, Maar carved out her own career as a photographer and painter but admitted her identity was overshadowed by her relationship with Picasso. “I’m still too famous as Picasso’s mistress to be accepted as a painter,” she once said.

The 81-by-60-centimeter painting bears Picasso’s signature in the upper-left corner. A certificate of authenticity from the Comité Picasso will be issued to the buyer.