Picasso masterpieces sell for £80m at Las Vegas auction
The pieces were previously displayed in the Bellagio hotel’s Picasso restaurant.
Eleven Pablo Picasso artworks have sold at auction for nearly 110 million US dollars (£80 million) after spending years on display at a Las Vegas hotel.
The Sotheby’s auction took place at the MGM Resorts-owned Bellagio hotel and casino, where the pieces featured in its Picasso restaurant.
The company said Saturday’s sale, which exceeded its high estimate with all of the works sold, would help it improve the diversity of its fine art collection.
It exceeded its high guide price by some 10 million dollars.
The two-metre tall Homme Et Enfant sold for 24.4 million dollars (£17 million). The 1959 piece is regarded as an important example of Picasso’s late career work.
The Bellagio ballroom featured a recreated version of the Sotheby’s auction room for the sale, which was hosted by the house’s chairman and auctioneer Oliver Barker.
Brooke Lampley, Sotheby’s chairman and worldwide head of sales for global fine art, said: “When we announced this unique collaboration with MGM Resorts a few months ago, there was an immediate buzz about this special auction.
The MGM Resorts collection was started more than 20 years ago by US property developer and casino mogul Steve Wynn, former owner of the Bellagio.
