Picasso’s ‘Le Sauvetage’ Sold for $31 Million in New York Auction

Auction house Sotheby's revealed that Pablo Picasso’s ‘Le Sauvetage’, which was painted in 1932, has fetched $31 million.

Auction house Sotheby's revealed that Pablo Picasso’s ‘Le Sauvetage’, which was painted in 1932, has fetched $31 million following a bidding war in New York.

The surrealist master's enigmatic work -- which was last sold a decade ago -- went under the hammer for $31.525 million on Wednesday following frenzied bidding over several minutes.

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The painting had been expected to fetch between $14 million and $18 million.

The painting was part of 14 Picasso works offered by Sotheby's as part of its auction of Impressionist and Modern Art.

In total, eight lots were sold for an aggregate $62.088 million.

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However one of the lots expected to generate most activity -- Picasso's "Tete de Marie-Therese" ("Head of Marie-Therese"), valued between $15 million and $20 million, failed to find a buyer.

Another important work "La Seance du Matin" by French master Henri Matisse, sold for $19.205 million, just below its lower estimate of $20 million.

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A canvas by French impressionist Claude Monet, "Le Pont Japonais" ("The Japanese Bridge") meanwhile fetched $15.845 million, in line with its estimated range of between $12 million and $18 million.

Sotheby's reported total sales of just under $219 million.

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Source-AFP