A Picasso may get record price
NEW YORK -- A painting Pablo Picasso completed when he was only 24 is going on sale next week at
The record now is the $82.5 million paid for Vincent Van Gogh's ''Portrait of Doctor Gachet" in 1990, but specialists believe Picasso's ''Garcon a la Pipe," or ''Boy with a Pipe," a hauntingly beautiful portrait of a boy holding a pipe in his left hand and wearing a garland of flowers, is in the same league. They estimate the 1905 painting could fetch as much as $100 million, a once-unthinkable price for a piece of art.
"Nothing has gone over $82.5 million, but it has been threatening to break the $100 million barrier for some time, and this Picasso may do it," said Richard Feigen, a gallery owner who is one of New York's top art aficionados. ''I remember when the barrier was $5 million, then $10 million and then $20 million, then $50 million. That's when I predicted we will one day see $100 million paid for a piece of art, and we may very well see it."
John Richardson, the premiere Picasso biographer, said he is hearing the painting could go for $75 million_which would still be the most paid for a Picasso, or even more. ''I think it could well go above $100 million. All you need is two people who want it," he said.
''I don't know if it will break a record, but it is certainly one of the masterpieces he did," said William Acquavella, owner of Acquavella Galleries on Manhattan's East Side. ''It's about one of the most important Picassos of the Rose Period that has ever come up for auction."
The painting, which will go on sale next Wednesday and is available for public viewing beginning today, belongs to the Greentree Foundation, based on Long Island. Philanthropist Betsey Whitney created the foundation in 1982 after the death of her husband, John Hay Whitney. A total of 44 paintings from the foundation will be auctioned by Sotheby's, including works by Claude Monet, John Singer Sargent, and Edouard Manet. But Picasso's painting is considered by far the most precious.
The model is believed to be a boy who loved to hang around and watch Picasso work at the Bateau Lavoir in the Montmartre section of Paris. Picasso painted the garland one month after finishing the rest of the painting. The Whitneys bought it in 1950 for $30,000. The painting had had only one other owner before then, making it even more attractive to wealthy collectors concerned about a work's provenance, said David Norman, a senior vice president at Sotheby's. When Betsey Whitney died in 1998, she instructed proceeds from the sale go to charity.
''This is like the Holy Grail, a really iconic work of art," said Norman. ''This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for someone who has or is developing a great art collection."
Fearing disappointment if the artwork does not break the record, officials at the famed auction house are estimating the work to be worth at least $70 million. The most ever paid for a Picasso was $55 million for a painting done during his Blue Period. ''Garcon a la Pipe" was completed somewhat later during his Rose Period, in 1905 and 1906, when his subjects were marked by brighter colors and lighter moods.
''Ever since we announced this there has been a lot of speculation about what price will it bring and will it break the auction record," said Norman.
Specialists on high-quality art believe the painting will draw an extraordinary amount of money for several reasons: First, it is seen as aesthetically and historically important as other works by European masters that have garnered top dollars. It is simple and pretty, making it attractive to the newly rich. It is also considered one of Picasso's finest pieces prior to the cubist era. Most of all, specialists say such masterpieces are rarely available for the public to buy.
''Great works by masters are increasingly ending up in museums," said Norman.
In addition, individuals who own masterpieces are hanging onto them, said Feigen. One reason, he said, is that banks no longer look at the finest art as just a thing of beauty, but as sensible investments and collateral that can be used to obtain large loans.
''It is very hard to get people to sell, which means things are scarce, which means prices go up. I do not think that is good for art. In the art business, there is no factory to make art. This means the factory is closed," said Feigen.
Rumors of possible buyers have been popping up nearly every day, but according to Frances F.L. Beatty, vice president of Richard L. Feigen & Co., no one really knows who the likely purchaser is, or what the final price will be.
''That is anybody's guess, because it depends on how much someone wants it on that particular day and how much they are willing to spend," said Beatty. ''I don't think anyone knows who the likely buyers are, but I think many people think it might be someone who has made a vast fortune fairly recently. The Japanese have not been in the market for extremely expensive works for some time . . . The likely buyer would seem to be some Russian oligarch."
Feigen says a buyer could come from anywhere. ''There are quite a number of people in various countries that have the capacity to spend $100 million for an object," he said. ''Who knew a Russian would spend $90 million for a handful of Faberg Easter eggs? So they can come out of the woodwork."
The eggs were purchased in March by Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian billionaire.
