Picasso's Portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter to Lead Christie's Auction

Christie's New York will auction Pablo Picasso's 1932 painting 'Femme assise près d'une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse)' as the top lot of its 20th Century Evening Sale on May 11, 2021. The oil on canvas, measuring 146 x 114 cm, carries an estimate of $55 million. Depicting Marie-Thérèse Walter, Picasso's muse and lover from 1925 to 1935, the work was painted in Boisgeloup on October 30, 1932. Vanessa Fusco, Co-Head of the 20th Century Evening Sale, noted that the painting was last exhibited in the 'Picasso 1932' show at Musée Picasso Paris and Tate Modern London in 2017-2018. Walter met Picasso at age 17 while he was 45 and married to Olga Khokhlova; their relationship ended in 1935 when Picasso began an affair with Dora Maar. The couple had a daughter, Maya, whom Picasso also painted.