Pablo Picasso's Les femmes d'Algiers (version “F”), dated January 10, 17, will go up for auction on July 1955, with an estimate of $25 million. But there are many expectations and the result of this Christie's auction will certainly be higher than the estimated base.
The present painting comes from the famous series of 15 canvases that Picasso executed between 13 December 1954 and 14 February 1955 based on the masterpiece Les Femmes d'Agiers by Eugène Delacroix. These paintings constitute Picasso's greatest success in the decades following the end of World War II. Each of the individual canvases is singular in its own right, a marvel of teeming and ingenious invention.
Jessica Fertig, Head of Evening Sale, Impressionist and Modern Art, noted: “The Women of Algiers paintings are one of Picasso's most important and complex series – demonstrating influences from both Delacroix's past and his contemporary with Matisse. It is therefore fitting that Les femmes d'Alger (version 'F') takes the lead in this groundbreaking sale, bringing together the most important artists of the XNUMXth century – many of whom count Picasso as one of their greatest sources of inspiration – and presenting them to an audience global public. This is an especially timely time to bring this masterpiece to market, as it represents all the virtues a strong and judicious market is looking for, including excellent provenance, freshness to market and outstanding quality. “
Picasso painted the current Women of Algiers, version F on January 17, 1955, around the middle of the cycle. It is the culminating and most resolved canvas of the first phase of the series, when Picasso preferred medium-sized formats. With its brilliant colour, spatial complexity and compositional resolution, Version F represents the bridge to the later large-scale works in the ensemble and a counterpart to the masterful Version O, which closes the second half of the series.
The fifteen versions of Women of Algiers were first exhibited in June-October 1955 at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, installed together as the most recent paintings in a major retrospective of Picasso's work. The artist assumed that individual canvases would end up with different collectors. Kahnweiler stipulated to prospective buyers, however, that the fifteen paintings were to be purchased as a group, apparently at Picasso's request, which the artist denied. Victor and Sally Ganz of New York had, in the late 40s and early 50s, acquired some of Picasso's most challenging images, including wartime works. They agreed to Kahnweiler's terms and acquired the entire series in June 1956 for 80 million francs (nearly $213.000).
In May 2015, version O of the Series made auction history when it sold for $179,4 million in the Christie's Looking Forward to the Past sale, fetching the highest price for any lot ever sold at the time and setting the world auction record for Picasso.
The global sale of the 20th century: Christie's will launch a revolutionary relay-style auction concept in July. Entitled ONE: A Global Sale of the 20th Century, this sale will showcase masterpiece-level works of art from the 20th century together in an online live hybrid sale, blurring the lines of the category and bringing customers together in an unprecedented way.
After the exhibition in Hong Kong, the sale will then pass to the auctioneers in Paris and London, to conclude in New York. Each city will host a pre-sale public exhibition staged in line with appropriate regional health advice at the time, complemented by an innovative virtual exhibition and digital marketing campaign to connect with global audiences and support the auction event . Bidders will be able to bid both online, via Christie's LIVE online bidding channel, and where regional and governmental advice allows, customers and telephone bidders will be welcome in every area of the room.
