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Summary There works will be expected to fetch $35 million for each.
A 1932 portrait by Pablo Picasso of his young lover and a pioneering 3-D Andy Warhol painting of the Statue of Liberty are expected to sell for at least $35 million each, but could fetch much more when they are auctioned next month.The two works, Picassos Nature morte aux tulipes, and Warhols Statue of Liberty will be the highlights of New York autumn sales at Sothebys and Christies.The young woman, with her Grecian profile and athletic, statuesque frame, inspired Picassos greatest achievements in a variety of media, said Simon Shaw, Sothebys Impressionist and Modern Art department in New York.Nature morte aux tulipes is exceptional within the series for its double-meditation on this subject, demonstrating the influence of Surrealism on his output: the artist builds a sculpture of Marie-Thérèse, and then paints that sculpture as a sexually-charged still life, allowing him to dissect her form on many levels, he added in a statement.Marie-Thérèse, who was just 17 years old when she met the already married Picasso, featured in many of his works and bore him a daughter in 1935. Another painting of her, Femme à la fenêtre from 1936, will also be included in the Sotheby sale with a pre-sale estimate of up to $20 million.Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur a 1932 painting of Marie-Thérèse was sold to anonymous buyer at a 2010 auction for $106.5 million. The sale of the Picasso portraits coincides with a new exhibition of the works of the renowned Spanish artist at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
