Written by Jacqui Palumbo, CNN
Eleven works of art by Pablo Picasso, exhibited in a Las Vegas restaurant for over 20 years, will be auctioned this October, just two days before the artist’s 140th birthday.
As part of MGM Resorts’ extensive art collection, the pieces have long been a staple at Picasso, a Michelin-starred French and Spanish restaurant in the Bellagio that is inspired by the life and work of its namesake.
The collection – which includes paintings, works on paper, and a ceramic work – has a total estimated value of $ 104.2 million, according to Sotheby’s auction house, which organized the sale.
Picasso’s “Femme au béret rouge-orange” shows the model Marie-Thérèse Walter. They started an affair in the late 1920s and had a child together. Credit: Courtesy Sotheby’s and MGM Resorts
“It’s an encyclopedic collection of Picasso’s works, with works from 1917 to 1969 – practically the length of his career,” said Brooke Lampley, Sotheby’s chairwoman and global sales director for global visual arts, on the phone. “It gives a wonderfully comprehensive overview of the incredible diversity and wealth of his career.”
It’s the first time Las Vegas has hosted one of Sotheby’s marquee evening sales, usually held at the auction house’s New York headquarters.
A varied collection
Among the 11 works is “Femme au béret rouge-orange”, an oil painting by Marie-Thérèse Walter, a young French model with whom the artist had a long affair in the late 1920s and 1930s. Picasso’s extensive portraits of Walter, the mother of his daughter Maya, are characterized by vivid colors and intimacy.
“I love the Marie Thérèse period simply because it is the most unusually sincere and romantic period in Picasso’s career,” said Lampley. She noted that some of the artist’s stylistic choices, including the double cubist face and Walter’s beret, are reminiscent of his famous paintings by another romantic partner, photographer Dora Maar.
“You can see the integrated influences of the two muses at this point,” added Lampley.
“Nature morte au panier de fruit et aux fleurs,” a painting from 1942. During this time, “Picasso painted with a really heavy application of paint, almost reminiscent of Van Gogh,” said Sotheby’s Brooke Lampley. Credit: Courtesy Sotheby’s and MGM Resorts
Other works in the auction include “Buste d’homme” from 1969, a painting from Picasso’s late period that once hung behind the bar of the Las Vegas restaurant; “Nature morte au panier de fruit et aux fleurs”, a still life painted during the Nazi occupation of Paris; and “Aiguière – Visage”, a white terracotta vessel that he made in 1954.
A new location
The Picasso auction will be the “largest and most important” art auction ever held in Las Vegas, according to Sotheby’s. The move is part of MGM’s attempts to reposition the gambling and entertainment city as “a broader arts destination,” Lampley said.
It comes at a time when the ongoing pandemic is radically transforming both the art market and the hospitality and travel industries. Last August, MGM Resorts laid off 18,000 employees – a quarter of its workforce – while visitor numbers to Las Vegas in July 2020 fell 61% year over year. This month, MGM Resorts International reported a rebound in revenue in the second quarter due to an increase in travel activity.
Sales from MGM Resorts’ Corporate Art Collection include paintings, works on paper, and this terracotta jar. Credit: Courtesy Sotheby’s and MGM Resorts
In a press release, MGM said the auction of Picasso’s works would help its goal of “deepening diversity and inclusion” in its art collection. According to Sotheby’s, part of the proceeds will be reinvested in the art market.
The resort group’s chief hospitality officer, Ari Kastrati, said in a statement: “We are committed to creating an even broader collection that maintains the breadth of our existing portfolio while giving artists from underrepresented communities a greater voice.”
MGM declined to provide a timetable for the initiative. “We want to be thoughtful and thoughtful as we move forward,” said a spokesman for Sotheby’s, who confirmed that the group’s collection includes 12 other Picasso works of art that will replace the auctioned items in the restaurant.
Above: “Buste d’homme” hangs behind Picasso’s bar, which opened in 1998.
