MGM Resorts and Sotheby’s will hold a live auction in Las Vegas on October 23. 11 out of 23 Pablo Picasso masterpieces from the MGM Resorts Fine Art Collection will be sold. All 11 artworks are valued for more than US$100 million dollars. The remaining 12 artworks will continue to be displayed at Bellagio’s Picasso-themed restaurant.
American businessman Steve Wynn created his Las Vegas Strip, including a casino and resort empire in the late 1980s. Wynn and his former company, Mirage Resorts, originally bought the artworks for the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art and the Picasso-themed restaurant for the hotel-casino's inauguration in 1998. The American tycoon wanted guests to be inspired by key fine art artworks in a new cultural hub, Las Vegas. Artistic masterpieces in the collection included names such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Vincent Van Gogh, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein and Mark Rothko.
Wynn sold Mirage Resorts and the Bellagio to MGM Grand Inc. in 2000. All the Picasso artworks were transferred to the MGM franchise, and remained at the restaurant.
MGM's Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art displays contemporary art and rotating exhibitions. Wynn, meanwhile, continues to collect and deal art through his own company, Wynn Fine Art.
Bellagio is a casino, resort and luxury hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, US
Steve Wynn is an avid art collector, with key holdings in American luxury casinos
Auction Artworks
The auction's Picasso masterpieces celebrate the Spanish painter's illustrious career that spanned for more than 50 years, from 1917 to 1969. Here are some highlights:
Femme au beret rouge-orange also appears in the Picasso-themed restaurant at the Bellagio
Femme au beret rouge-orange
Pablo Picasso
Created on 14 January, 1938
46 x 38.1 cm
Oil and ripolin on canvas
Estimate: US$20 million to US$30 million
This painting stars a portrait of a lover, Marie-Thérèse Walter. Created in 1938, the present painting is one of the artist’s final works capturing Marie-Thérèse. Adorned with her signature beret, Picasso’s tender portrait uses a yellow and green palette to accentuate Marie-Therese’s rounded features, which are characteristic of Picasso’s depictions of her.
Homme et enfant
Pablo Picasso
Created on 4 July, 1969
Oil and ripolin on canvas
195 x 130 cm
Estimate: US$20 million to US$30 million
Buste d’homme
Pablo Picasso
Created on 10 September, 1969
Oil and ripolin on canvas
130 x 97 cm
Estimate: US$10 million to US$15 million
The sale is further highlighted by the two large-scale portraits above, Homme et enfant and Buste d’homme. They were painted during one of the most inspired and productive periods of Picasso’s life, from January 5 1969 to February 2 1970. Both works were included in the 1970 exhibition at the Palais des Papes in Avignon, France.
Nature morte au panier de fruits et aux fleurs
Pablo Picasso
Created on 2 August, 1942
Oil on canvas
73 x 92 cm
Estimate: US$10 million to US$15 million
This is a painting created by Picasso during the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1942. The Spanish Cubist painter was prohibited from exhibiting his works until Salon d’Automne in 1944. His experience during the German occupation caused him to look inward and focus on themes of life and death.
Nature morte aux fleurs et au compotier
Pablo Picasso
Created on 14 September, 1943
81 x 100 cm
Estimate: US$6 million to US$8 million
Importance
This is the first time Sotheby’s will host a live sale outside of their New York auction venue. The auction will also be broadcasted through a livestream on Sotheby’s website. Pre-sale exhibitions of the full selection of works will take place in Sotheby’s New York galleries from September 7 to 13; Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art in Las Vegas from October 21 to 23.
Travelling exhibitions to Asia are also planned for Taipei from September 17 to 18, and then in Hong Kong from October 7 to 11.
All exhibitions are free and open to public viewing.
The auction coincides with Picasso’s 140th birthday. The Spanish painter was born on 25 October, 1881.
Auction Details:
Picasso Masterworks from MGM Resorts' Fine Art Collection
Auction House: Sotheby's New York
Auction Location: Bellagio, Las Vegas
Date: October 23, 2021
Exhibition Schedules:
US:
Preview Highlights Exhibition | New York, 7 – 13 September
Pre-Sale Exhibition Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art | Las Vegas, 21 – 23 October
Auction Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art | Las Vegas, 23 October
Asia:
Preview Highlights Exhibition | Taipei, 17 – 18 September
Preview Highlights Exhibition | Hong Kong, 7 – 11 October