Tonight at the Heffel Fine Art Auction House fall sale, Pablo Picasso’s Femme au Chapeau will lead the bidding with a pre-auction estimate of between $8 and $10 million.
Picasso’s canvases are some of the most sought-after on the international market, and this piece is no exception. Painted in 1941 oil on canvas, Femme au Chapeau was one of Picasso’s first pieces shown in North America. The portrait is of Picasso’s muse Dora Maar who was also famously depicted in his 1937 work, The Weeping Woman.
This work by the French painter is an extremely significant piece for the Canadian art market. In 1956 the Kootz Gallery displayed Picasso’s pieces in America for the first time, at the Picasso: First Showing in America, Paintings and Sculptures exhibit. Now in 2019, Canadians are getting the opportunity to not only view the painting on Canadian soil but also to purchase it.
Alongside the monumental Picasso canvas, other major works from international and major Canadian artists will be on the auction block. Emily Carr’s rare canvas, Street, Alert Bay will be featured, as well as some pieces from the Group of Seven and Jean Paul Riopelle.
In addition, comedian Steve Martin is selling a painting by Lawren Harris, Mountain Sketch LXX, from his private collection. The 1928 work is estimated to sell between $300,000 and $500,000.
Heffel’s live auction estimates to collect a total of between $20 million and $25 million from the 113 artworks offered.
Update: Pablo Picasso’s canvas, Femme au Chapeau sold yesterday for a record-setting $9.1 million at auction.