Picasso’s Tender Portrait of Marie-Thérčse from 1932 to Lead Sotheby’s London Summer Season

Painted In 1932, Known as Picasso’s ‘Year of Wonders’ to Be Unveiled in Public for the First Time in Two Decades Ahead of Sotheby’s Summer Season in London. Painted during Pablo Picasso’s ‘year of wonders’ this monumental, yet remarkably tender and intimate, painting of Marie-Thérèse absorbed in the act of writing evokes a private moment from the artist’s clandestine relationship with his most beloved muse. Awake or asleep, writing or reading, Marie-Thérèse appears in manifold guises throughout Picasso’s oeuvre. In this painting, Picasso focuses on her innocence and youthfulness, depicting her serenely penning her thoughts. Appearing at auction for the first time in over two decades, Buste de femme de profil. Femme écrivant will highlight Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in London on 19 June 2018.

Helena Newman, Global Co-Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department & Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, said: “This tender and romantic vision of Marie-Thérèse is a remarkably intimate portrait of the woman who has come to embody the heart and soul of the most celebrated year of Picasso’s oeuvre. Buste de femme de profil. Femme écrivant comes to auction having remained unseen in public for more than 20 years, marking the third consecutive season this year where an exceptional Picasso from the 1930s has headlined our flagship evening sale. It is all the more wonderful to offer this painting created in the spring of 1932 at a time when we are enjoying a world-class exhibition devoted to this year at Tate Modern in London.”