Picasso's 1938 piece "La Fille de l'artiste a deux ans et demi avec un bateau" is up for auction, it's a masterpeice depiciting his daughter, aged two at the time, holding a toy boat. Maya was the daughter of Picasso's young mistress, Marie-Therese Walter.
Like many of his favourite portraits of family members, the piece remained in Picasso's personal collection for 35 years until his death in 1973. Since then it's been in a private collection, since the 1980s actually.
The painting has never been offered at auction before and the Sotheby's exhibition is its first public showing in London, it's all very exciting!
Emmanuel Di-Donna, Vice Chairman of Impressionist & Modern Art Worldwide said: "This life-affirming portrait reflects the great joy that Maya brought into the artist's life, even on the eve of the Second World War."
Very touching...not to mention pricey! Want to know how much this portrait is going to go for?It is estimated to fetch between £10.7m to £16m next month. A second Picasso work travelling to London is "Nature Morte", estimated at £3.4m to £4.8m.
The exhibition is a preview of Sotheby's major sale of Impressionist and Modern Art in New York on May 5.
