Leo Martínez
Pablo Picasso is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, with his works spanning nearly eight decades. His paintings are worth millions of dollars, with some major works fetching hundreds of millions. Picasso's paintings have consistently broken auction records, with his works raking in $245 million across 3,400 lots in 2020 alone. The most ever paid for a Picasso painting at auction was $179,365,000 for Les Femmes D/Alger (Version 'O') in 2015. Picasso's works continue to be highly sought-after, with his paintings, sculptures, and prints showcasing his revolutionary style and enduring influence on modern art.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Picasso's status as an artist | One of the most coveted artists of all time |
| Period of artistic output | Seven decades |
| Most prized paintings from | Various stages of his life, including the early-career Rose and Blue Periods, Cubist experiments, years leading up to and during World War II, and the late 1960s |
| Central theme in his paintings | Portraits of his various muses: Marie-Thérèse Walter, Dora Maar, Françoise Gilot, and Jacqueline Roque |
| Picasso's stature post his death in 1973 | His works have gone for more than $100 million in public auctions and reportedly higher sums in private deals |
| Picasso's ranking in auction sales | Top-grossing artist worldwide, raking in $245 million across 3,400 lots in 2020 alone |
| Most expensive Picasso artwork sold at an auction | Les Femmes D/Alger (Version 'O') (1955) sold for $179,365,000 on May 15, 2015 |
| Picasso's total artworks at auction | 101,385 |
| Average selling price of Picasso's paintings in the past 12 months | $600,274 |
| Average selling price of Picasso's works on paper in the past 12 months | $77,125 |
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What You'll Learn
Picasso's Blue Period
Pablo Picasso is considered one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century. His paintings are worth millions of dollars, with some major works selling for hundreds of millions. The most ever paid at auction for a Picasso painting was $179,365,000 for the piece Les Femmes D/Alger (Version ‘O’) in 2015.
The Blue Period, a pivotal phase in Picasso's career, lasted from 1901 to 1904. During this time, Picasso painted sombre scenes in shades of blue, blue-green, and occasionally, other colours. The Blue Period was marked by Picasso's emotional turmoil and financial struggles. The sudden death of his close friend Carlos Casagemas in 1901, who committed suicide after facing unrequited love, deeply affected Picasso. Casagemas in His Coffin, completed in 1901, is considered the first painting of this period.
During this period, Picasso's work reflected his experience of poverty and instability. He depicted beggars, street urchins, the old and frail, and the blind. Blindness is a recurrent theme in his Blue Period works, suggesting the presence of spiritual inner vision. Other common subjects include female nudes, mothers with children, and prostitutes. Solitary figures dominate his Blue Period works, reflecting themes of loneliness, poverty, and despair.
Picasso's visit to a women's prison called St. Lazare in Paris also influenced this period. The Two Sisters is an example of how he mixed daily reality with Christian iconography. The colour blue symbolised Mary, the Mother of God, and the meeting between Mary and the mother of John the Baptist.
The Blue Period directed Picasso's attention to the desolation of social outsiders, including prisoners, beggars, circus people, and the poor. This period was followed by his Rose Period, where he emphasised the use of pinks and other warm hues as his psychological state improved.
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Cubist works
Pablo Picasso is considered one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century. He is best known for his Cubist paintings, especially from his Blue Period and Rose Period. Even his lesser-known drawings and sketches can sell for several thousand dollars.
Picasso's Cubist works are highly sought-after and can be extremely valuable at auctions. One of his early Cubist paintings, "Femme Assise," sold for £43.2 million ($63.4 million) at a Sotheby’s London auction in 2016. It is one of the few Cubist works by Picasso still in private hands, making it a rare opportunity for collectors. The painting depicts French artist and model Fernande Olivier, who travelled with Picasso to a remote village in Spain in 1909, where she posed for several of his pictures.
Another notable auction featuring a Picasso Cubist work took place at Christie's New York in May 2015. The vibrant red portrait of photographer Dora Maar from 1938, measuring only 25⅝ by 21¼ inches, sold for $67.4 million to an anonymous buyer, surpassing its $55 million estimate.
Picasso's Cubist works from various periods of his career are highly valued and sought-after by collectors worldwide. These works not only showcase his artistic talent but also represent key moments in his personal life and relationships, adding to their allure and desirability in the art world.
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Portraits of muses
Pablo Picasso is considered one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century, with his paintings fetching hundreds of millions of dollars at auctions. He is best known for his Cubist paintings, especially from his Blue Period (1901-1904) and Rose Period, as well as his Surrealist works.
Central to Picasso's oeuvre are portraits of his various muses: Marie-Thérèse Walter, Dora Maar, Françoise Gilot, and Jacqueline Roque, each of whom he had a series of complicated affairs with. These portraits, which range from sensual to tormented, have become some of the most recognisable in art history.
Marie-Thérèse Walter, whom Picasso met in 1927, inspired celebrated works such as the Vollard Suite, a set of 100 neo-classical etchings completed between 1930 and 1937. Portraits of Marie-Thérèse are highly valued on the secondary market, with Picasso's 1932 painting "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust" selling for £69.8 million at Christie's in 2010. Another portrait, "Femme Au Béret Et À La Robe Quadrillée" (1937), sold for £49.8 million at Sotheby's. "Femme Nue Couchée" (1932), a grandiose depiction of Marie-Thérèse, sold for £54.1 million at Sotheby's in 2022.
Dora Maar, a successful Surrealist photographer, had a dramatic impact on Picasso's paintings. She taught him to develop black-and-white photographs and influenced works such as "The Weeping Woman" (1937) and the epic anti-war mural "Guernica" (1937). A vibrant red portrait of Dora Maar sold for $67.4 million at Christie's New York in 2015.
Picasso met French painter Françoise Gilot in 1943, when he was 61 and she was 21. Although Picasso significantly influenced her work, Gilot's own oeuvre was distinguished and widely respected. She is recognisable in Picasso's portraits, such as "Françoise" (1946) and "Woman-flower" (1946).
Jacqueline Roque was Picasso's second wife and final muse, whom he met in 1952. He painted over 400 portraits of her, more than he had done with any previous lover. One such portrait, "Femme assise près d’une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse)" (1932), sold for $103.4 million at Christie's in 2020.
Other notable muses of Picasso include Fernande Olivier, an artist and life model who posed for more than 60 portraits, and Olga Khokhlova, a ballet dancer whom Picasso married in 1919.
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Private sales
Pablo Picasso is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. His paintings are worth millions of dollars, with some major works ranging into the hundreds of millions. Even lesser-known drawings and sketches can sell for several thousand dollars.
While Picasso's paintings often appear at auctions, there are also private sales. Private sales are not always reported, and even when they are, details like the purchase price may remain confidential. For example, the purchase price of Judith and Holofernes, attributed to Caravaggio, was not disclosed due to a confidentiality agreement.
In 2013, Picasso's Le Rêve, 1932 was sold in a private sale at Christie's for $155 million, making it one of the most expensive Picasso paintings. Another of Picasso's paintings, Striped Bodice from 1943, was privately resold for around $50 million through Sotheby's in 1997.
Art buyers can feel confident when purchasing Picasso paintings through private sales from platforms such as Heritage Auctions, which provides careful valuations of artwork for sale.
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Sculptures and other works
Pablo Picasso is best known for his paintings, but his sculptures are also among the most groundbreaking and thought-provoking artworks of the modern era. Throughout his illustrious career, Picasso worked with almost every medium, from ceramics to theatrical design. He is regarded as a master painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramics artist, etching artist, and writer.
One of Picasso's most famous sculptures is the plaster "Reclining Figure (Baigneuse allongée)" from 1931. This sculpture served as the inspiration for his painting "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust", which was sold at Christie's New York in 2010 for $106,482,500, setting a new record for the artist and for any work of art sold at auction at the time.
Picasso's first preserved drawing, "Hercules" (1890), depicts the legendary hero known for his superhuman strength. This work demonstrates the artist's lifelong attraction to the world of mythology.
Although Picasso's sculptures may not have achieved the same level of fame as his paintings, they are nonetheless significant and valuable contributions to the art world. The artist's versatility and prolificacy continue to stand as a testament to his talent.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Pablo Picasso's paintings are worth millions of dollars, with some of his major works fetching hundreds of millions. He remains the top-grossing artist at auctions worldwide, making $245 million across 3,400 lots in 2020 alone.
Some of Pablo Picasso's most expensive paintings sold at auctions include:
- Les Femmes d'Alger (Version 'O') (1955) -- $179,365,000
- Striped Bodice (September 1943)
- Femme assise près d’une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse) (1932) -- $103.4 million
- Femme Nue Couchée (1932) -- £54.1 million
- Femme Au Béret Et À La Robe Quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter) (1937) -- £49.8 million
- Garçon À La Pipe (1905)
The value of Pablo Picasso's paintings at auctions depends on various factors, including the size and medium of the artwork, as well as market demand and the artistic period from which the work originates. Portraits of his muses, such as Marie-Thérèse Walter, Dora Maar, Françoise Gilot, and Jacqueline Roque, are particularly sought-after and can command high prices.
