picasso tete de femme 468x313 Unseen Picasso masterpiece sells for £8m

A Picasso masterpiece unseen in public for 43 years fetched more than twice its expected price at auction - going for £8.1million at last night’s Christie’s sale.

Tete de Femme (Jacqueline), a 1963 portrait of the artist’s second wife, had not been seen in public since 1967 and was expected to fetch £4million.

Jacqueline had an unusually short neck and it is said that Picasso would jokingly exaggerate its size in his portraits - as in this elongated example.

Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale, held in London, raised a total of nearly £77million.

tete de femme Unseen Picasso masterpiece sells for £8m