Versace's Picasso Auction
Wild Wonderful Mary Beth
More than 20 works by the artist Pablo Picasso are to go under the
hammer at an auction of possessions belonging to the late fashion
designer Gianni Versace.
The collection of five oils and 20 drawings by the Spanish artist will
form the centrepiece of the sale at Sotheby's in London on Tuesday.
The auction house expects the pieces to fetch more than £8m.
Versace was murdered at his home in 1997
"The group spans Picasso's entire career and is particularly rich in
works dating from the artist's Blue and Rose periods," said a
spokesperson.
The best known among the pictures on offer is a 1938 oil called Young
Girl with Boat, featuring Picasso's eldest daughter Maya dressed in a
sailor's suit and holding a model boat.
Another familiar oil is Woman Sitting on a Chair, a portrait of the
artist's mistress Dora Maar.
Versace - who was gunned down, aged 50, on 15 July 1997 outside his
house in Miami Beach, Florida - was throughout his life an avid
purchaser of impressionist and contemporary art.
His set of Picassos, mostly acquired in the 1980s, represent only a
small proportion of his whole collection which also includes works by
Henri Matisee, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Julian Schnabel.
Woman on a Chair was a portrait of Picasso's mistress
The Versace family say they are being sold to slim down the size of
the multi-millionaire's huge estate.
"I think it would be unreasonable to expect the family to keep
everything that Gianni collected over his lifetime," said family
spokesman Lou Colasuonno.
The auction of the Italian designer's Miami mansion is also being
handled by Sotheby's. The asking price for the 12-bedroomed beachfront
Mediterranean-style palazzo is said to be £14.3m.
Suspected serial killer Andrew Cunanan shot Versace twice in the head
at the gate to the house two years ago.
A search for Cunanan, who was wanted for the murders of four other men,
ended nine days later when he was found dead. It is thought he killed
himself.
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Regards,
Mary Beth :-)
~Blessed are those who have nothing to say and cannot be persuaded to sa
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Before you buy.