MGM Resorts Raises $100m from Sale of Picasso Paintings

MGM Resorts Raises $100m from Sale of Picasso Paintings

11 Picasso paintings have been sold for a total of $109 million. The sale took place through an auction that was conducted by Sotheby’s at the Bellagio in Las Vegas on Saturday, October 23, 2021.

The paintings that were sold were part of the Fine Arts Collection of the MGM Resort. The collection was started by Steve Wynn. The resort acquired the paintings when Mirage was bought from Wynn for $4.4 billion in 2000.

More on the auction

The centerpiece at the auction was the 1938 painting by Picasso that was titled Femme au beret rouge-orange” (Woman with the Red-orange Beret). The painting is a portrait of Marie-Therese Walter who was a lover of the artist. It was sold for $40.5 million. The expectations from the painting were that the sale would take place for $20 million to $30 million. The painting’s price surpassed expectations.

Another painting, Homme et Enfant (Man and Child) raised $24.4 million for the resort. Nine other paintings were also auctioned. Apart from paintings, ceramic works were also auctioned. They were sold for more than three to four times the estimate. One ceramic work sold for $2.1 million according to a report by Reuters.

The buyer of the artworks chose to remain anonymous. However, amongst the guests (white-glove crowd), actor Leonardo DiCaprio could be spotted. The Hollywood actor is known to be a fan of Picasso, the modernist master. It is possible that he may have wanted to purchase a painting himself.

DiCaprio had purchased a Picasso painting but had to surrender the same to the United States Government in 2017 as the dealer from whom he purchased the painting was implicated in the 1MDB Malaysian Government embezzlement scandal.

How will the money be used?

The resort has stated that at least a portion of the money raised would be invested into the fine art collection in order to include works by women, people of color as well as other underrepresented communities.

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Sherlock Gomes loves to write and express his views on anything related to Gaming, Gambling, & Casino. He has been covering Gaming for more than two years now.