Picasso’s Recovered Portrait of Dora Maar Reaches $37 Million Sale
On October 24, 2025, a recently uncovered Pablo Picasso artwork featuring Dora Maar was auctioned for €32.01 million (approximately $37.15 million) by Lucien Paris. The ultimate sale price was nearly four times greater than the initial projection by the Parisian auction house, which was set at €8 million (around $9.45 million).
Entitled Buste de femme au chapeau à fleurs (Dora Maar), this painting is among several that portray the titular Dora Maar, a French-Croatian photographer, painter, and Picasso’s partner for nine years. The artist finalized the portrait in 1943, after which it was promptly acquired by a collector in 1944. Prior to last month’s auction, Buste de femme had been concealed from the public eye and remained in that private collection for upwards of 80 years. Its existence was initially recognized through a black-and-white image published in the Cahiers d’art art journal, taken just prior to its sale. It is also believed that Brassaï captured the painting in photographs between late April and early May 1944.
“It represents not just a milestone in the realm of art history, but also in Picasso’s personal life,” auctioneer Christope Lucien remarked in a recent interview with The Guardian. “It’s a captivating portrait of Dora Maar, remarkable and filled with emotion. Its discovery is a significant moment in our lives as specialists.”
In the days leading to the auction held at Hôtel Drouot in Paris, Buste de femme was displayed for public viewing for the first time in nearly a century. Around 18 bidders from Europe, Asia, and the United States vied for the artwork during the auction, before an international collector present in the room placed the successful bid of €32.01 million. The sale marks France’s top auction result of the year and is the country’s second-highest sum achieved for a Picasso piece, according to Lucien.
While the anticipations for Buste de femme were exceeded, its final price still falls short when compared to Picasso’s auction records. In 2015, the renowned Les Femmes d’Alger (Version “O”) fetched $179.4 million at Christie’s New York, making it the most expensive Picasso piece sold at auction worldwide. In 2023, Femme à la montre also set records, becoming the second most valuable Picasso, securing $139.4 million.
For further details about the auction, visit the Lucien Paris website.
After remaining concealed in a private collection for over 80 years, Pablo Picasso’s 1943 portrait of his muse Dora Maar has now been sold at auction for $37 million.
Sources: Picasso portrait of muse Dora Maar in vivid hat, long hidden from view, sells for 32 million euros; Little-Known Picasso Portrait of Dora Maar Sells for $37 M., Quadruple Its Estimate; Pablo Picasso’s long-hidden portrait of Dora Maar sells for $37 million in Paris
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