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Picasso's Femme assise sets record at Sotheby's London auction

market-auction · 2026-05-05

On June 21, 2016, Sotheby's evening auction in London presented 27 lots, of which three did not sell, generating a total of £103,280,000. Picasso's "Femme assise" (1909) fetched £43.3 million, marking a record for any Cubist artwork and the highest price for a painting in London in five years; it had been part of a private collection since 1973. Modigliani's "Jeanne Hébuterne (au foulard)" (1919) achieved £38.5 million, setting a record for a portrait by the artist. Munch's print "The Scream" sold for £1.8 million. Meanwhile, Christie's offered 33 lots, with 12 remaining unsold, totaling £25,612,500. Modigliani's "Madame Hanka Zborowska" (1917) sold for £8,258,500, and records were established for Bernard Buffet and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.

Key facts

  • Sotheby's London Impressionist and Modern Art evening sale on June 21, 2016 achieved £103,280,000 including buyer's premium.
  • Picasso's 'Femme assise' (1909) sold for £43.3 million, a record for any Cubist work at auction.
  • Modigliani's 'Jeanne Hébuterne (au foulard)' (1919) sold for £38.5 million, a record for a Modigliani portrait.
  • A Rodin bronze (lot 14) went unsold at £6.2 million.
  • Munch's print 'The Scream' achieved a record £1.8 million.
  • Christie's Impressionist and Modern Art sale totaled £25,612,500 with 12 unsold lots out of 33.
  • Modigliani's 'Madame Hanka Zborowska' (1917) sold for £8,258,500, below expectations.
  • Records were set for Bernard Buffet and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner at Christie's.

Entities

Artists

  • Pablo Picasso
  • Amedeo Modigliani
  • Auguste Rodin
  • Edvard Munch
  • Juan Gris
  • Alberto Giacometti
  • Bernard Buffet
  • Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
  • Wassily Kandinsky
  • Paul Klee
  • Rembrandt Bugatti
  • Pierre-Auguste Renoir
  • Claude Monet
  • Max Ernst
  • Marc Chagall
  • Salvador Dalí
  • Georg Kolbe
  • Max Beckmann

Institutions

  • Sotheby's
  • Christie's

Locations

  • London
  • United Kingdom

Sources