Jesse James
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is selling Pablo Picasso‘s Tête de femme (Fernande). Intrigued? Well, you should be; the piece is the first Cubist sculpture by the artist. The sculpture will be sold as a part of Christie’s 20th century art evening sale, which is set to take place this May in New York. The piece is expected to fetch somewhere around $30 million USD. Tête de femme (Fernande) was created in May 1909. The bronze figure depicts the head and face of the artist’s music Fernande Olivier.
According to the art house, the sculpture is an important moment in Cubism. In a press release, Max Carter, who is head of Christie’s impressionist and modern art department, spoke candidly about the piece. He stated: “Tête de femme (Fernande) is Cubism’s definitive early sculpture. It’s revolutionary architectural faceting, which Picasso sliced and sharpened after modeling in clay, suggests Vesalius as much as it does Frank Gehry.” The sculpture was initially gifted to The Met in 2013 by Leonard A. Lauder, a philanthropist and art collector. There are only 20 known casts of Picasso’s Tête de femme (Fernande), many of them on display at public institutions.
Proceeds from the sale of Tête de femme (Fernande) will go towards supporting future acquisitions for The Met. Head over to Christie’s to find out more and place your bids in May. Until then, keep it locked with The Culture Curators for more art news coming very soon.
Photos via Christie’s
