
by Pablo Picasso, 1905
Christie's / New York
May 8, 2018
Estate of David Rockefeller
Private Collector
Working in oil on canvas, Pablo Picasso painted this Fillette à la corbeille fleurie (Young Girl with a Flower Basket) in autumn 1905, capturing a young Parisian street vendor named Linda. She stands nearly nude, wearing only pink ribbons in her dark hair and a simple necklace, holding a basket of red flowers. The warm palette and simplified forms mark this as a masterwork of his Rose Period.
Collectors Gertrude and Leo Stein acquired the painting for 150 francs, making it the second of three Rose Period works they purchased directly from Picasso. Gertrude later described it as "full of grace and delicacy and charm," painted at the height of his harlequin period. Her legendary Paris salon helped establish Picasso's early reputation.
The painting passed to David Rockefeller's collection in 1968 through a syndicate offering from the Stein estate. When Rockefeller's collection sold at Christie's in May 2018, this canvas brought $115 million, becoming one of the most expensive Picassos ever sold. The Nahmad Collection acquired it.
Other masterpieces from the Expressionism movement

Edvard Munch, 1893
National Gallery of Norway, Oslo

Edvard Munch, 1894
Munch Museum, Oslo

Édouard Manet, 1869
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Edvard Munch, 1894
Munch Museum, Oslo

Édouard Manet, 1882
National Gallery, London

Édouard Manet, 1862
National Gallery, London

Édouard Manet, 1863
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Edvard Munch, 1886
National Gallery of Norway, Oslo
Luxury wall art with the same mood and energy. Gallery-quality canvas, no museum crowds.
Browse Collection