The Museum currently owns two casts of this Picasso sculpture, one received as part of the bequest of Florene M. Schoenborn over 25 years ago, a second from a recent gift of Leonard A. Lauder
(New York, March 9, 2022)—The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today plans to sell one of its casts of Pablo Picasso’s Head of a Woman (1909), the artist’s first Cubist sculpture. Proceeds from the sale will be solely dedicated to purchasing works for the Museum’s collection. The bronze sculpture came to The Met over 25 years ago as part of the Bequest of Florene M. Schoenborn, while the other cast entered the collection more recently as a gift of Leonard A. Lauder.
The Schoenborn example will be sold via auction by Christies in May 2022.
Max Hollein, Marina Kellen French Director of The Met, said, “The Met annually deaccessions work, following comprehensive review with a focus on similar or duplicate works. We are extraordinarily privileged to have had two casts of Picasso’s first Cubist sculpture—a masterpiece—thanks to the generosity of great patrons past and present. The funds from this sale will enable the Museum to further prioritize acquisitions of major outstanding works of art.”
Head of a Woman (Fernande) is part of the Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, an unparalleled collection of paintings, sculptures, and works on paper that was promised to The Met in April 2013. Since then, The Met has gratefully accepted several additions to its collection from Mr. Lauder’s outstanding Collection.
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March 9, 2022
Contact: Ken Weine, Ann Bailis
Communications@metmuseum.org
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973), Head of a Woman, 1909, Bronze, 16 × 10 1/4 × 10 in. (40.6 × 26 × 25.4 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Florene M. Schoenborn, 1995, © 2022 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York