Picasso portrait of muse Dora Maar in vivid hat, long hidden from view, on auction in Paris

By OLEG CETINIC, Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — A vividly hued Picasso portrait of longtime muse and partner Dora Maar that had remained out of view for more than eight decades is being auctioned Friday in Paris.

Painted in July 1943, “Bust of a Woman with a Flowered Hat (Dora Maar)” depicts Maar in a brightly colored floral hat. Maar, an artist and photographer herself, had been Picasso’s partner and muse for about seven years, and the relationship was coming to a painful close. The work was purchased in 1944 and had not been on the market since, remaining in the family collection. • Art expert Agnes Sevestre-Barbe, right, and auction officer Christophe Lucien, display a rediscovered Picasso painting “Bust of a Woman in a Flowery Hat”, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025 in Paris. The portrait pa