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| Painted on March 8, 1932 |
IF THE PAINTING
COULD TALK--The 5’ x 4’ painting above, Nude, Green Leaves and Bust by Pablo Picasso was reportedly painted
on this day in 1932. It is widely known
the nude in the painting is Picasso’s mistress Marie-Therese Walter, whom he
met as a 17-year-old French model in 1927.
The oil’s present owner is known only to a few at Christie’s,
the famed auction house. The painting currently resides on long term loan to
the Tate Modern gallery in London.
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| Marie-Therese Walter |
Aside from it being painted by Picasso, one remarkable fact is
the nearly $107 million that an anonymous buyer paid for it at auction earlier
this decade. That sum is among the
highest ever paid for a painting anywhere in the world.
The colorful painting remained in the collection of Sidney and
Frances Brody since they purchased it in 1951.
When Frances died in late 2009 (after Sidney had died years earlier),
the painting auctioned. During the Brody
ownership, the painting was seen only once by the public and that was at a
special showing in honor of Picasso’s 80th birthday.
As for Marie-Therese, she bore the artist a daughter. He supported both financially after he ended
their relationship. He never married Marie-Therese because he chose not to divorce
his first wife, ballerina Olga Khokhlova.
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| Olga Khokhlova |
In 1935, Olga left the marriage never to return--taking son
Paulo with her after she discovered the affair with Marie-Therese. For financial reasons, the couple remained
legally married until Olga died in 1955 of natural causes.
Picasso died in 1975.
Marie-Therese
committed suicide in 1977.
The
painting lives on.
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