Picasso painting sells for $150,000 after sitting in closet for five decades

A painting by Pablo Picasso has sold for $150,000 after it sat in a closet in Maine for 50 years, according to local reports.

The unnamed seller and John McInnis Auctioneers, LLC, believe the painting is a 16×16 study of Picasso’s “Le Tricorne,” which is on display at the New-York Historical Society Museum and Library, according to a description on LiveAuctioneers, an online auction platform.

• Oba of Benin, Obaseki differ on repatriation of looted artifacts
  Nigeria makes history, shock US in pre-Olympic basketball friendly

John McInnis Auctioneers confirmed the sale to The Boston Globe last week. LiveAuctioneers revealed the $150,000 winning bid on June 26.

“Both my aunt and grandmother studied in Europe in the 1920s,” the seller wrote in a statement for LiveAuctioneers. “My grandmother at the Sorbonne and aunt in England. My great aunt became a professor of English history at Rutgers and lived in New York City for decades. Each enjoyed collecting objects from their travels. My aunt collected rare books and art.”

The painting in question was discovered in the home belonging to the seller’s great aunt.

“The home was later inherited by my father and now me. There were several paintings kept in a closet for 50 years (including this example), which were left by her at the time of the passing of the house to my father and now to me,” the seller wrote.

The buyer will have at least 120 days to authenticate the painting with The Claude Picasso Administration, which is managed by the artist’s son.