Most Expensive Painting Goes On Display In The UK

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Mar 7th 2011 at 2:02AM

Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust stunned the world when it sold at Christie's New York last May for $106.5 million. Now the Telegraph reports that the most expensive painting ever sold at auction is on display for the first time in the UK at the Tate Modern. The painting was done in 1932 during Picasso's very fruitful year when he did a series of paintings of his mistress and muse Marie-Therese Walter. Picasso first saw young Marie-Thérèse on the streets of Paris in 1927, when she was just seventeen years old. Because of her age and the status of his marriage to Olga Khokhlova the relationship was kept quiet for several years. This painting was part of a colorful explosion of works painted in January 1932 in anticipation of the major retrospective that he was planning. The Steve-Wynn-owned painting Le Reve is from this period as is La Lecture which sold for over $40 million earlier this year. The painting has been lent to the gallery by a private collector and will have pride of place in the new Pablo Picasso room in the Poetry and Dream wing on Level 3 of the building.

Tags: Microsoft, museum exhibit, pablo picasso, tate modern

Filed under: Art

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

lwfcwrb Mar 8th 2011 9:34AM

LOL

I wonder who decided that this was worth any money at all. Someone had to.

MaryAnn Mar 8th 2011 9:51AM

There's no explaining why this is considered art. You can thank the Japanese who, in the eighties, started buying up all famous art pieces at phenomenal prices--that was the start of the ridiculous, outlandish price tags on these 'things'. Picasso was probably on drugs when he painted it.

Jackson Polleck (sp?) was an alcoholic under the care of a psychiatrist. He squirted paint all over the place (household paint, no less) and that is considered art. Go figure

MaryAnn Mar 8th 2011 9:56AM

raytorreswb Mar 8th 2011 10:48AM

Are you kidding I got better pics drawn from my 5 year old than this, and ill gladly give them away for free. People always want what they cant have, hense the price increase, Sad that some one would pay such an astronimcal price for such a cheap looking peace of art. I dont care who painted it. I guess its all in the eye of the beholder.

oncom1 Mar 8th 2011 11:25AM

One of the worst paintings ever by the worst artist ever! They should do us all a favor and throw it in a dumpster!!!

gutz54 Mar 8th 2011 11:35AM

Whoever paid that kind of money for this painting needs his/her head examined. My 3 yr old has painted several "masterpieces" that actually are nicer then this thing. Yea-- I know i'm an unedumucated hick who don't appreciate good art. But ,really-- if Picaso hadn't painted this, it would of been on the bottom of a birdcage a long time ago.

chauncyco Mar 8th 2011 1:03PM

This is not great art. This is commercially valuable art that has been designated as great art by a small group of self absorbed art critics who can neither paint or evaluate what is good art, much less great art. Because of this type of judgment, people with too much money to spend are convinced they have to have something that no one else has. Picasso knew this and was one of the finest merchandisers of his own art. Great? I think not, but then what do I know. LOL