Picasso sold for $150,000 after 50 years kept hidden in closet

The painting, dated in the year 1919, is believed to be a study of a stage curtain

A Picasso dated to 1919 has sold at auction for $150,000. AFP

A mixed-media painting attributed to Pablo Picasso has been sold after spending 50 years in a closet in a house in Maine, US.

John McInnis Auctioneers, in Massachusetts, confirmed that the painting entitled Le Tricorne sold on Saturday, The Boston Globe reported.

The 40 x 40 centimetre painting is signed and dated in the year 1919. It is believed to be a study of the stage curtain Picasso painted for a ballet of the same name that debuted that year in London, according to the New-York Historical Society. That curtain has been on display at the historical society in New York City since 2015.

The website liveauctioneers.com reported the sale price of the painting was $150,000, plus a 24 per cent buyer’s premium.

Neither the buyer nor the seller was named, but the seller gave a statement on the website saying the painting was found in a closet of a home his father inherited from a female relative who studied art in Europe in the 1920s.

“This painting was discovered in a house owned by my great aunt which was passed down to her from her uncle in the late 1930s,” the statement reads. “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.”

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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.

Updated: July 3rd 2021, 6:40 AM