JSM Financial: Picasso painting sold for new auction record price.

May 5, 2010 - PRLog -- At a recent Christie’s auction in New York, after roughly nine minutes of intense bidding, an unnamed telephonic bidder purchased Pablo Picasso’s “Nude Green Leaves and Bust” for $106.5 million, allowing the Spanish artist to reclaim the title of world’s most expensive artist, JSM Financial has learned.

Picasso’s painting, a portrait of his blonde mistress, Marie-Therese Walter, painted in 1932 during one of his most creative periods, smashed the price of the Alberto Giacometti sculpture which was sold for $104.3 million in February this year.

JSM Financial research shows that prior to the Giacometti sculpture, another Picasso, “Garcon à la pipe”, had held the record after it fetched $104.2 million in May of 2004.

The speed with which the record auction price was broken is an indication of the strength and growing confidence in the art market which has shown a strong recovery in recent months with many large investment purchases made this year. In April this year Sotheby’s held its largest ever auction in Hong Kong since it started doing business in the Asian city in 1973.

Picasso’s painting was the highlight lot of the evening’s auction of impressionist and modern art which was attended predominantly by U.S. and European collectors. According to Christie’s a total of $335.5 million worth of art was traded on the evening.

“This was a stellar night for Christie’s and for the art market,” JSM Financial understands Christies Americas Chairman Marc Porter said of the auction.

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