Picasso Sells for $29 Million at Christie's Auction

A Pablo Picasso painting sold for over $29 million USD at a Christie's auction in London on Tuesday.

Seated Woman, Blue Robe (Femme assise, robe bleue) was created in 1939 and depicts the artist's girlfriend Dora Maar. Picasso sent the painting to his dealer, Paul Rosenberg, in Bordeaux, upon its completion in October of 1939. Months later it was confiscated by the Nazis and remained in enemy possession until members of the French Resistance confiscated it in the mid-1940s and eventually returned it to Rosenberg.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Dimitri Mavrommatis outbid at least seven rivals for Seated Woman, Blue Robe. his winning bid more than double Christie's high estimate of $12.9 million USD.

Mavrommatis is a Greek financier and collector, specializing in French porcelain.

Overall, Christie's June 21 Impressionist/Modernist Evening Sale brought in $227.1 million.

[Sources: Wall Street Journal, Christie's]