One anonymous phone bidder’s passion for Picasso set them back a staggering $106 million, in about 9 minutes flat.  The auction took place at Christie’s in New York, and the Picasso piece was the sought-after oil painting, “Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur” (Nude Green Leaves and Bust).

This hefty sum ($106,482,500 to be precise), takes the new record for highest price paid for a piece of art.  The previous record was set back in February, at Sotheby’s in London, when Giacometti’s “Walking Man I” went for an astounding $104.3 million.  Rumors are circulating that the very same reclusive billionaire art collector purchased both pieces. 

Expensive does not even begin to describe this hobby!  Hey, for the price of those two paintings, this art collector could have purchased a brand-spanking new fire red Ferrari F430 Spider, and likely gotten more enjoyment out of it.  They could have invested in a number of luxury and exotic cars for that sum, like a Lamborghini Gallardo, or Aston Martin Vantage…well, everyone has their passion I suppose.

The prestigious Picasso painting measures an unobtrusive 5 feet by 4 feet, depicting one of his many mistresses, Marie-Therese Walter in a reclined position and nude.  Picasso himself is said to be in the background.  The piece was painted in 1932, in just one day, and is considered to represent a turning point for the famed artist.

It is unknown if any other artist has brought in that much money on a piece that consumed only one day of their time.  I would consider that a good day’s work.  I am curious if the piece will now go back into hiding, or if the new owner (whoever it is) will be sharing it with others.  It really is a remarkable piece, and I feel it should be shared, yet for the price the new owner paid for it, they are free to do whatever they please with it.
 

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