Picasso portrait of muse Dora Maar, long hidden from view, sells for $37 million

Picasso portrait of muse Dora Maar, long hidden from view, sells for $37 million

The Associated Press

October 25, 2025 / 6:10 am

PARIS — A vividly hued Picasso portrait of longtime muse and partner Dora Maar that had remained hidden from public view for more than eight decades sold Friday at auction for 32 million euros (about $37 million), including fees — surpassing expectations but far from the artist's most expensive work ever auctioned.

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, remaini