NEW YORK, 19 April 2017 – Sotheby’s is privileged to announce Picasso Man & Beast: Works from the Collection of Marina Picasso, a dedicated auction to be held in New York on 18 May 2017. The sale will present more than 100 artworks – comprising both works on paper and unique ceramics – that remained in Pablo Picasso’s studio throughout his lifetime. The pieces descended to his granddaughter, Marina Picasso, and are offered this May from her collection.

With estimates ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, the sale offers an exciting opportunity for new and established collectors alike to acquire works by the modern master. The auction includes examples of Picasso’s most celebrated styles, genres, subjects and muses, with material spanning from the last years of the 19th century to the final decade of his life. The collection will be on public exhibition in our New York galleries beginning on 5 May, alongside our marquee spring auctions of Impressionist & Modern and Contemporary Art.

Scott Niichel, Co-Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale in New York, commented: “Following the success of last year’s sale, Picasso in Private, held at Sotheby’s London, we are thrilled to offer another selection of works on paper and original ceramics from Marina Picasso’s distinguished collection. Each of the works is a reflection on the larger themes of ‘man’ and ‘beast’ within Picasso’s oeuvre and to some extent his life, and together they illustrate a masterful overview of his famously productive career – spanning every major period and encompassing his many iconic styles and techniques.”

The May sale features a number of portraits and studies of the women and children who inhabited Picasso’s life. From a sensual pencil drawing of his muse Marie-Thérèse Walter, to an angular Cubist study of a female nude, to an endearing portrait of the artist’s daughter, Paloma, the diverse group offers invaluable insight into the artist’s psyche throughout his career.

A lifetime animal lover, Picasso’s obsession with creatures both real and mythical took on numerous forms, from his earliest days as a student in Spain to the last decade of his life. When he and his family moved to the South of France in 1946, it sparked an intense period of artistic production during which he created some of his most inventive works, modeled after animals that held a particular significance to him – from a goat that roamed the estate grounds, to an owl who shared his studio, to the native sea creatures found along the French coastline.

Minotaurs, fauns and bulls were symbols of masculinity and virility that Picasso returned to throughout his career, often portraying himself as the beasts within his works. Whether on canvas, paper or in ceramic, he adopted these personas in a number of different guises: sometimes as a violent and masculine bull and other times as a playful and sociable faun. A variety of these distinctive characters are represented throughout this collection, including highly stylized horned goats and brightly colored decorative plates depicting bulls and fauns.

Prints & Multiples
Sotheby’s New York, Autumn 2017

This October, Sotheby’s Prints and Multiples auction in New York will offer more than 80 etchings, aquatint, linoleum cut and lithograph prints by Pablo Picasso. The offering includes works from nearly all of the modern master’s genres, including Cubism and Surrealism. Highlights from the autumn offering will be on exhibition alongside Picasso Man & Beast.