Drawing by Francis Picabia sold for €120,000 (£106,195) by Giquello & Associés.
Image copyright: Giquello & Associés/Drouot
It was included among the artefacts in a sale of African and Oceanic art held by Giquello & Associés (25/20.5/17% buyer’s premium).
The signed 10¼ x 7¼in (26 x 18.5cm) drawing from c.1929-30 on offer at Drouot on March 14 depicted superimposed figures of an African Fang statue and female forms. The statue is a well-known piece of African art which is now in the Dapper collection.
However, when Picabia chose it for this composition it belonged to the Parisian artist Georges de Miré (1899-1965), who was also one of the pioneering collectors of African and Oceanic art in the pre-Second World War era.
When Miré was forced to sell his collection in 1931 due to bankruptcy, the statue was acquired by the sculptor Jacob Epstein. It later belonged to the collector Carlo Monzino before being acquired by the Dapper foundation.
At Giquello the drawing sold for €120,000 (£106,195) against a guide of €50,000-80,000.
