A Las Vegas Restaurant Is Auctioning 11 Picasso Masterpieces

Mega auction in Las Vegas

This October, MGM Resorts is partnering with Sotheby's to sell off artworks by Picasso which could go for around $100 million. Many of the paintings were previously hung in the Picasso restaurant in the Bellagio Hotel & Casino, which is known for its starring role in the movie Ocean’s Eleven.

The star of the auction is Picasso's Femme au béret rouge-orange, a portrait of his muse and lover Marie-Thérèse Walter, which is expected to go for $20–$30 million. Other highlights include a portrait of the commedia dell’arte character Pierrot, estimated at around $3 million and a still life painted during the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1942, Nature morte aux fleurs et au compotier, estimated at $6 million to $8 million.

"You're going to get a wide variety of period, you're going to get a wide variety of subject matter, you're going to get a wide variety of media. So you get a little bit of everything that makes Picasso great in this auction," said Brett Maly, president of Art Encounter in Las Vegas.

The Bellagio also has one of the city’s best art galleries and the resort says it is reshaping “its public fine art portfolio, deepening its focus on diversity and inclusion.”

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What you need to know

Pre-sale exhibitions of the full selection of works to be offered at auction will take place at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art (October 21- 23) in Las Vegas, with travelling exhibitions of select highlights planned for Hong Kong (October 7 – 11) to introduce the artworks to newly wealthy Asian clients in the art market.

All exhibitions are open to the public and the sale will also be livestreamed. MGM Resorts will devote a portion of the sales proceeds towards acquiring new artworks.