Picasso portrait of his lover lures nearly $45M at auction

File photo dated Jan. 31, 2013 shows gallery assistants hanging Picasso's "Femme Assise Pres d'une Fenetre" (Woman Sitting Near a Window) / AP
LONDON A Picasso painting of his muse has fetched $44.9 million at a London auction.
The 1932 work, "Femme Assise Pres d'une Fenetre (Woman Sitting Near a Window)," is a portrait of the artist's "golden muse," Marie-Therese Walter.
Picasso first met his muse in Paris in 1927, when she was 17 years old, and the pair subsequently became lovers.
Helena Newman, who heads Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art department in Europe, called the painting a "stunning and monumental portrait" from one of the most celebrated periods in Picasso's life.
She added Tuesday that there has been a strong market for Picasso's portraits of Walter among collectors in recent years.
Another portrait, "La Lecture," sold for 25 million pounds in 2011, double its pre-sale estimate.
Popular on CBSNews.com
-
One year after Afghan massacre, villagers work with U.S. troops One year after U.S. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was accused of slaughtering 16 Afghan civilians, the villagers in the town where the atrocity took place have joined the U.S. special forces stationed there to assist in the fight against the Taliban.
- 50th Paris Air Show 19 Photos
- Widespread protests in Brazil 23 Photos
- Celebration and devotion in India 14 Photos
- One of FBI's Ten Most Wanted nabbed in Mexico
- Afghan gov't halts talks with U.S. on security pact
- Somali militants wage deadly attack on U.N. office
- Rare twin birth for gorilla in Dutch zoo Play Video
- Brazil protesters flood Sao Paulo streets for 2nd night















I am not an art critic. I don't care what the so called art experts believe is art. Art is something truly special. This crap is not special at all, but looks like something from the Elephant Man. $45 Mil. for the name Picasso. Hell the Simpsons has better illustrations. An (artist) who creates cartoons is called a cartoonist.