Pablo Picasso’s famous Femme a la Montre to be displayed in Dubai

A masterpiece by painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso is going to be exhibited in Dubai for the first time. Femme a la Montre, estimated to have a value of over $120 million, is being brought to the UAE this month by New York-based fine art auction house Sotheby’s.

According to Sotheby’s, Femme a la Montre, which translates to “Woman in Watch” in English, was owned by Emily Fisher Landau, an art collector and philanthropist from New York who died at the age of 102 in March 2023.

Landau bought the 1932 painting “right at the start of her collecting journey” and it was a “major acquisition and a bold move for a new collector”.

“She bought it on the spot—and the masterpiece has remained the keystone of her collection for more than five decades, hanging above the mantle in her New York home,” said Sotheby’s.

The painting depicts Marie-Therese Walter, Pablo Picasso’s “golden muse and the subject of many of his most accomplished portraits”.

“Femme a la Montre’ dates from 1932, a year of such importance that an entire museum exhibition was dedicated to it at the Tate Modern in 2018,” Sotheby’s stated.

Now, the artwork will be displayed at Sotheby’s Dubai from September 25 to 26. Customers can see the masterpiece on Level B2, Building 3, DIFC Gate Village. The timings are from 2pm to 5pm on Monday and from 10am to 7pm on Tuesday.

Femme a la Montre is a part of The Emily Fisher Landau Collection: An Era world tour which began in New York on September 13 and will end in Los Angeles on October 22. Following this, the masterpiece will go under the hammer in November.

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According to the New York Post, Femme a la Montre is one of the 120 artworks in The Emily Fisher Landau Collection. Fine art experts are expecting the masterpiece to sell for over $120 million.

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