**Vivid Picasso Portrait of Muse Dora Maar Sells for €32 Million After Eight Decades Hidden from Public**
A vividly hued portrait by Pablo Picasso, depicting his longtime muse and partner Dora Maar, sold at auction on Friday for an impressive 32 million euros (approximately $37 million), including fees. The sale surpassed expectations but remained far from the artist’s highest auction record.
Painted in July 1943, *Bust of a Woman with a Flowered Hat (Dora Maar)* captures Maar adorned in a brightly colored floral hat. Dora Maar herself was an accomplished artist and photographer, who had been Picasso’s partner and muse for around seven years. Their relationship, however, was drawing to a painful close at the time this work was created.
The painting was purchased in 1944 and had remained in the family collection ever since, never before appearing on the market. It is part of Picasso’s “Woman in a Hat” series and was auctioned at the renowned Drouot auction house in Paris.
Christophe Lucien, the auctioneer, described the final sale as “an enormous success” and a very emotional moment. The final price—32,012,397 euros including buyer fees, above the 27-million euro hammer price—not only exceeded estimates but was also the highest price paid at auction so far this year for any artwork sold in France.
Lucien reflected on the painting’s significance, calling it “a little piece of the story of love,” though bittersweet, between Picasso and Maar. When she first met Picasso at age 29, Maar quickly became his muse and was the model for several major works, including *Guernica*. Their relationship eventually ended when Picasso left her for the younger Françoise Gilot. Dora Maar died at the age of 89, having lived a largely reclusive life in her later years.
The auctioneer said, “Their story was not a very simple one,” adding that the painting was created near the end of their time together. “You can see that she was containing tears because she understood that Picasso was leaving her.”
Ahead of the auction, Picasso specialist Agnès Sevestre-Barbé marveled at the portrait’s vibrant condition. “We have a painting that is exactly as it was when it left the studio,” she said. “It wasn’t varnished, which means we have all its raw material, all of it. It’s a painting where you can feel all the colors, the entire chromatic range. It’s a painting that speaks for itself.”
She added, “You just have to look at it. It’s full of expression, and you can see all of Picasso’s genius.” Previously, the artwork had only been known through a black-and-white photograph. “We couldn’t imagine from that photo that this painting was so colorful, so amazing, really.”
Auctioneer Christophe Lucien also highlighted the global interest in the painting prior to the sale. “It’s being talked about in all the world capitals with a strong art market—from the United States to Asia, and, of course, through all the major European markets,” he said.
This remarkable Picasso portrait not only reveals the artist’s emotional world during a pivotal moment in his life but also offers art lovers a rare glimpse of a masterpiece that has remained virtually unseen for more than 80 years.
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/25/nx-s1-5585904/picasso-dora-maar-painting-auction