One of the finest known Pablo Picasso signed photographs is being sold by International Autograph Auctions (IAA) in their 29th November Auction with a €10,000 - €15,000 estimate.
The black and white photograph, which measures 3 inches x 4.5 inches, features Picasso, his son Paulo, daughter Maya, and two unidentified people standing in a line on a stage with their arms around each other.
Picasso is photographed without a top and wearing white shorts and sandals.
The photo is believed to have been taken at a restaurant whilst on a family holiday in Golfe-Juan in the Cote d'Azur.
In addition to his autograph, signed boldly in blue pen at the base of the photo, Picasso has also drawn a small image of a dove in flight.
The image of a dove is synonymous with Picasso who considered it to be an important political symbol with his 1949 lithograph 'La Colombe', featuring a white dove on a black background, becoming a symbol of peace around the world.
Picasso's dove was actually based on a Milanese pigeon given to him as a gift by Henri Matisse.
Picasso signed photographs are very rare and seldom come to auction. The most recent example was in August 2021 when RR Auction sold a black and white photo of Picasso and his muse (and wife) Jacqueline Roque for $6,375.
Given the personal nature of IAA's photo and the addition of the hand drawn dove, it can be considered an art work in itself and at €10,000 - €15,000 is available for a fraction of a genuine Picasso artwork.
The photograph is sold with a letter of authenticity from Claude Ruiz-Picasso, the son of Françoise Gilot and Pablo Picasso.
If you are interested in the work that goes into verify a Picasso this article at ARTnews is worth a look. It reads like a Cary Grant movie.
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Adrian Roose has over 30 years’ experience covering all aspects of the rare stamp & memorabilia industry during which he has sold over £50m of unique items, helping build collections for Royalty, household name celebrities and 1,000s of collectors around the world.
Adrian was previously a Director at Stanley Gibbons, a Board Member of Stampex, and Executive Director of Paul Fraser Collectibles, PFC Auctions and JustCollecting, prior to founding The Memorabilia Club.