Move over, Paris! 11 Picasso works worth up to US$104 million, originally collected by former casino mogul Steve Wynn, are being auctioned off in Las Vegas

Aug 15 , 2021

Picasso’s Femme au Béret et à la Robe Quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter) (1937) sold for £49.8 million (US$68.7 million) in February 2018 – how will Sotheby’s first Las Vegas sale fare? Photo: Sotheby’s

MGM Resorts is hosting the unlikely sell-off of 11 Picasso paintings, sculptures and drawings originally collected by the former Mirage Resorts CEO

Led by stand-out Femme au Béret Rouge-Orange, the sale marks the first time Sotheby’s has hosted an auction outside of major art hubs like London and New York

One of the most anticipated art sales of the season won’t take place in a fusty Parisian auction house or Manhattan’s Upper East Side – instead, MGM Resorts will auction off a collection of Picasso works valued up to US$104 million in a Las Vegas casino.

The 11 Picasso paintings, sculptures and drawings were originally collected by former casino mogul Steve Wynn. He sold his Mirage Resorts business to MGM in 2000, and later exited the casino industry (and his second venture, Wynn Resorts) in 2018 following allegations of sexual assault and harassment – which he denies – and has kept a low profile ever since.

Picasso’s Nature Morte au Panier de Fruits et aux Fleurs (1942) alongside his Nature Morte aux Fleurs et au Compotier (1943), pictured at Bellagio’s Picasso restaurant in Las Vegas where they have hung until now. Photo: Sotheby’s & MGM Resorts

Sotheby’s, one of the world’s largest brokers of fine art, will travel to Las Vegas for the event. The Wall Street Journal reported that this will be the first time Sotheby’s has hosted an auction outside of major art hubs such as London and New York.

MGM told the Journal that the auction is part of the resort’s shift toward contemporary art and works “by women and artists of colour”.

Pablo Picasso’s Homme et Enfant. Photo: Sotheby’s & MGM Resorts

The Picassos originally bought by Wynn are on display in the Bellagio Hotel & Casino’s themed restaurant, Picasso, where the average meal costs around US$132.

The auction’s most expensive works include a 1938 portrait of Picasso’s mistress, called Femme au Béret Rouge-Orange, which is expected to bring in at least US$20 million. A six-foot (1.8-metre) portrait titled Homme et Enfant is projected to sell for a similarly high price.

Picasso’s Femme au Béret Rouge-Orange (1938). Photo: Sotheby’s & MGM Resorts

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