Picasso painting sells for $103 mn in New York

Gallery workers display an artwork titled 'Femme assise près d'une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse)' by Spanish painter Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso's ‘Woman Sitting Near a Window (Marie-Therese)’ sold Thursday for $103.4 million at Christie's in New York, the auction house said. The painting, completed in 1932, was sold after 19 minutes of bidding for $90 million, which rose to $103.4 million when fees and commissions were added, Christie's said. Christie's had estimated the painting -- bought by an online bidder in California -- would sell for $55 million. The sale confirms the vitality of the art market despite the Covid-19 pandemic -- but also the special status of Picasso, who was born in 1881 and died in 1973.