Where will you be on October 23?

If you are an art collector looking to add more interesting, historical pieces to your collection, then the Pablo Picasso auction by American hotel chain, MGM Resorts, should be the place to be.

The decision to sell its Picasso collection is a move on MGM’s part to restructure its public-facing art collection and focus on presenting works by more diverse artists. Ari Kastrati, MGM Resorts’ chief hospitality officer, said in a statement that the decision is part of a broader strategy to give “a greater voice to artists from under-represented communities.”

Highlights from the collection include Picasso’s portrait of his early muse, Marie-Thérèse Walter. Titled Femme au beret (1938), the painting depicting a young blonde-haired Marie-Thérèse is expected to fetch $20 million.

Other top examples from the offering include two large-scale, late-period portraits – Homme et enfant (1969–70) and Buste d’homme (1969–70). Together, the paintings are expected to fetch at least $30 million. Each was included in the artist’s expansive 1973 exhibition at the Palais des Papes in Avignon, France. A still-life painting titled Nature morte au panier de fruits et aux fleurs (1942) is estimated at $10 million–$15 million.

The auction will take place as a live-streamed evening event at the Las Vegas iconic Bellagio hotel. Eleven Picasso artworks from the MGM collection – which also includes a wide range of the artist’s works on paper and experiments in ceramics, spanning from 1917 through 1969 – will be on display. The event will be facilitated by Sotheby’s and will mark the first time the auction house has ever held a sale of major works in the U.S. outside of its New York headquarters.

Highlights from the auction’s offerings will go on public view at the auction house’s York Avenue headquarters from September 7–12 and then travel to Taipei and Hong Kong before making its final stop at the hotel’s Bellagio art gallery ahead of the evening sale at the end of October.

Source: Artnews