Picasso painting sells for record $106.4 million

‘Nude, Green Leaves and Bust’ was estimated to sell for $80 million
 
Pablo Picasso’s 1932 “Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust” sold for a record $106.4 million on May 4.

NEW YORK – Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust” soared to more than $106 million at Christie’s on Tuesday, setting a record for a work of art sold at auction.

The vibrant large-scale depiction of Picasso’s mistress and frequent subject, Marie-Therese Walter, was the highlight of a world-class collection assembled by the late Los Angeles art patrons Frances and Sidney Brody.

It had been estimated to sell for more than $80 million, but many art experts predicted in recent weeks it would ride growing confidence in a recovering art market and break the previous record of $104.3 million set in February by Giacometti’s “Walking Man I” at Sotheby’s in London.