It’s Pablo Picash-o: Picasso’s portrait of lover sells for whopping £28.5m at auction

The 1932 work, Woman Sitting Near a Window, is a portrait of the Spanish artist’s “golden muse” Marie-Therese Walter.

A surrealist painting by Pablo Picasso depicting his lover with a huge forehead has fetched more than £28.5 million at auction.

The 1932 work, Femme Assise Pres d’une Fenetre (Woman Sitting Near a Window), is a portrait of Marie-Therese Walter.

Picasso first met his “golden muse” Marie-Therese in Paris in 1927, when she was 17 years old, and the pair subsequently became lovers.

Helena Newman , from Sotheby’s, called the painting a “stunning and monumental portrait” from one of the most celebrated periods in Picasso’s life.

She added: “In recent years in particular we have witnessed the remarkable allure of Picasso’s portraits of Marie-Therese to collectors, with La Lecture selling for £25 million – double its pre-sale estimate – in Sotheby’s February 2011 sale, and Nature Morte aux Tulipes selling in Sotheby’s November 2012 sale for 41.5m US dollars (£26.5m).

“This particular portrait is a striking and notably modern-looking work from one of the artist’s most celebrated periods.”

The painting sold for £28,601,250.

FROM: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/pablo-picassos-portrait-of-lover-marie-therese-1588573