'Estimated Price 3 Billion KRW' Picasso Portrait of a Woman, First Domestic Auction Appearance

Seoul Auction November Auction Featuring Picasso's Portrait of a Lady
K Auction to Present 91 Works Including Jeff Koons Pieces

A portrait work by Pablo Picasso will be auctioned for the first time in Korea.

Picasso, Tete de Femme au Chignon.
[Photo by Seoul Auction]

Seoul Auction announced on the 10th that Picasso's female portrait, 'Tete de Femme au Chignon,' was submitted to the November auction held on the afternoon of the 28th at Seoul Auction Gangnam Center in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, with an estimated price of 3 billion KRW. A total of 103 works worth approximately 12.5 billion KRW will be auctioned this time.

The submitted Picasso work depicts the left side of the woman's face in profile and the right side frontally, showing a dual perspective that clearly reveals Picasso's Cubism technique. Most of the Picasso works submitted in domestic auctions have been prints, drawings, and ceramics, making this the first time a portrait has been auctioned.

Seven works by the recently deceased artist Park Seo-bo, including the 2010 yellow drawing technique piece ('Drawing Technique No.100131', estimated at 550 million to 700 million KRW), were also submitted.

In the category of traditional art, attention was focused on the 42.5cm tall 'Buncheong Saseonggak Yeongmo Chohwamunho.' It is presumed to have been produced in the late 15th century at kilns in Yongsan-ri or Sudong-ri, Gochang, Jeollabuk-do, with the estimated price yet to be determined.

The auction items can be viewed free of charge at Seoul Auction Gangnam Center until the day of the auction. Some works will also be exhibited in Hong Kong from the 24th to the 26th.

Jeff Koons, Encased-Five Rows. [Photo by K Auction]

The K Auction to be held on the 22nd at the headquarters in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, will find new owners for a total of 91 art pieces worth about 9.1 billion KRW.

This auction features a work by Jeff Koons, consigned by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation, titled 'Encased-Five Rows,' attracting attention with an estimated price of 1.6 to 2 billion KRW. The piece places basketballs and soccer balls inside glass cases and symbolizes the Hoop Dream of Black working-class youth?the dream of succeeding as basketball players to gain social fame and wealth. Another work by Koons, 'Cow (Lilac): Easy Fun,' is estimated at 500 million to 700 million KRW.

K Auction also presents six works by Park Seo-bo, ranging from early pencil drawings to later color drawing series, covering various periods. An early pencil drawing work sized 120ho (Drawing Technique No. 48-75-77) is estimated at 600 million to 1.5 billion KRW and will seek a new owner.

Front (left) and back images of Lee Ufan's work "With the Wind" (1987)
[Photo provided by K Auction]

Additionally, Lee Ufan's 150ho-sized work 'With the Wind' is listed with an estimated price of 900 million to 1.2 billion KRW. K Auction introduced that "this work very rarely shows traces of the artist's work on the back side as well."

In the traditional art category, 'Nokhundogam Seonsa Eoseon Yeonhoedo' (錄勳都監 宣賜御膳 宴會圖), designated as a Seoul City Tangible Cultural Property in 2002, is submitted with an estimated price of 30 million to 60 million KRW. It is a type of gyehoe-do (a painting depicting a gathering of literati) created by officials of the Nokhundogam, a temporary government office established to prepare for the appointment of meritorious subjects by King Gwanghaegun, and is presumed to have been painted in 1613, the 5th year of Gwanghaegun's reign.

The auction preview can be viewed free of charge at the K Auction exhibition hall from the 11th to the 22nd.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.