Tête de femme by Pablo Picasso, a double-sided felt pen sketch on card signed and dated 2.6.70 – €158,000 at Aix Luberon Encheres.
Image: Succession Picasso 2022 (via Aix Luberon Encheres).
The 1970 felt pen sketch by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) entitled Tête de femme (Head of a Woman) had been owned by a wealthy French banker. Following his death, his heirs planned to auction his estate and the picture was found in a cupboard by auctioneer Jennifer Primpied-Rolland.
The drawing on cardboard, signed and dated, with a label for Paris dealer Galerie Louise Leiris, was offered for sale at Aix Luberon Encheres in Aix-en-Provence, southern France, on June 11 with an estimate of €50,000-60,000. Seven French and overseas bidders contested the drawing and it sold to a phone bidder.
The saleroom, part of the Ivoire France group, was created in 2016 when the auction houses of Aix-en Provence and Manosque joined forces.
It is run by Primpied-Rolland and Emmanuelle Hours.
