Billionaire art dealer David Nahmad owns the world's largest private collection of works by Pablo Picasso. David Nahmad poses in front of a colorful work by French-born American artist Arman. Picasso's work has been a visual treat for the world. But to own one of his impeccable work is another story all by itself.
Picasso Museum, Paris France
The Musée Picasso holds one of Paris' most treasured art collections, shown off in the elegant mansion. It's the largest public Picasso collection in the world.
While he had numerous lovers, he married only two women. Officially, there is only one legitimate heir to his vast inheritance: his granddaughter Marina Ruiz-Picasso.
In 1996, Claude Picasso, who had been named legal administrator of Picasso's estate by a French court, created the Picasso Administration, a Paris-based organization that manages the heirs' jointly owned interests, controls the rights to Picasso reproductions and exhibitions, issues merchandising licenses for ...
Notable paintings like Young Girl with Basket of Flowers sold for $115 million in 2018, and Femme assise près d'une fenêtre (Marie-Therese) sold for $103.4 million in 2021. Before that, Marie-Therese had changed hands for only $30,000 in 1950—and its price in the 21st century may shock many.
The Mona Lisa is priceless. Any speculative price (some say over a billion dollars!) would probably be so high that not one person would be able or willing to purchase and maintain the painting. Moreover, the Louvre Museum would probably never sell it.
The most expensive paintings in the world
The most expensive painting ever sold is the Salvator Mundi, the Saviour of the World in English, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci.
Mona Lisa is in the public domain and not subject to copyright, whereas some modern works based on the original such as Marcel Duchamp's L.H.O.O.Q. are protected by copyright law.
Picasso's net worth was between $100 and $250 million when he died in 1973 according to an auditor. Picasso's heirs, wives, and mistresses wanted a piece of his estate. Having left no will before his death, the legal dispute dividing Picasso's assets among his heirs took six years.
Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh never met. The Spanish painter discovered the Dutchman's work in Paris aged 19, when he was paying visits to independent salons. But an exercise in historical fiction leads one to surmise that had they met, they would not have gotten along.
In all his life Picasso produced about 147,800 pieces, consisting of: 13,500 paintings, 100,000 prints and engravings, 300 sculptures and ceramics and 34,000 illustrations - an impressive 78-year career.
He owned five homes and a large portfolio of stocks and bonds. “The Master” fathered four children with three women. He was also thought to have had $4.5 million in cash and $1.3 million in gold in his possession when he died. Once again, Picasso did not leave a will.
Marina Picasso (born 14 November 1950) is the granddaughter of Pablo Picasso. She inherited a fifth of her grandfather's estate and has used much of the inheritance to fund humanitarian efforts for children in need. She has five children and lives in Geneva, Switzerland and Cannes, France.
Picasso's Painting Is The Most Expensive Painting Ever Sold, $174 million dollars! DATE: May 14, 2015 – Pablo Picasso's “Women of Algiers (Version O)” sold at auction in New York for $179,365,000. The painting is considered to be one of the Pablo Picasso's most important works.
The Museu Picasso maintains one of the largest permanent collections of artwork by the famed artist Pablo Picasso. Housed within 5 adjacent medieval palaces on Barcelona's Montcada Street, the museum's expansive collection contains over 4,000 pieces of Picasso's works.
Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona is home to the Museu Picasso, which houses one of the most extensive collections of Picasso's work. He lived in the city during his formative years as an artist, between the ages of 14 and 24.
Weeping Woman is now valued by Sotheby's in excess of $100 million so it is difficult to argue it wasn't a good purchase.
Pablo Picasso holds the record for the artist with the most stolen artworks in the world, with more than 1,000 of his artworks reported missing.
Picasso, giant of art, dies at 91
He was 91 and had been ill for some weeks. A doctor called from the small village of Mougins, near Cannes, early in the morning said: “It was already too late when I arrived.” The cause of death was given as lung congestion.
** Mona Lisa is in the public domain and free to be exploited, explaining its reproduction on everything from postcards to coffee mugs, with no legal repercussions. Artistic replicas and reinterpretations as a whole – demonstrating adequate modification – are considered new works eligible for copyright protection.
Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci
The New York Times reported the buyer was acting for a Saudi prince, Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud—the painting has since been under the ownership of the Saudi Arabian culture ministry.
It is owned by the French Government.
Part of the patrimoine of France, the Louvre is officially owned by the French government, with more than 60% of its funding coming from the government.
Johannes Vermeer's "The Concert'', painted around 1664, was stolen together with Rembrandt's 'Storm on the Sea of Galilee' from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. Until today it is considered the most valuable stolen artwork in history and has many oil painting reproductions.
Van Gogh produced numerous artworks during his lifetime, and each bears an unforgettable uniqueness. He has created some of the most recognizable pieces in art history, including the iconic The Starry Night (1889), estimated at between $70 million to $100 million.
The Mona Lisa is one of the most valuable paintings in the world. It holds the Guinness World Record for the highest known painting insurance valuation in history at US$100 million in 1962, equivalent to $1 billion as of 2023.