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An eight-figure Picasso sets the tone for Art Basel's opening sales Art Basel opened on Tuesday with early sales pointing to strong broad-based demand across categories, generations, and price points – from museum-quality historical works to emerging names. Prices ranged from a few thousand dollars to USD 35 million asking price for Pablo Picasso’sLe peintre et son modèle dans un paysage(1963), offered byHauser & Wirth. Early activity reflected the international ecosystem that converges each year at Basel, including placements with major institutions and foundations across Europe, Asia, and North America. Here is a snapshot of Basel’s first-day sales. Basel Exclusive Anticipation was high for the inaugural Basel Exclusive, the fair’s new initiative for unveiling previously undisclosed key artworks during the VIP opening, with several of these works among the earliest reported sales. Almine Rechsold a Pablo Picasso painting for USD 6–6.5 million, whileSprüth Magersplaced a work from John Baldessari’s ‘Emoji’ series,INT. FRANK’S PENTHOUSE – EVENING BOBBY Reverse close-up(2017), with a European private collection for USD 500,000. Fortes D’Aloia & Gabrielreported a series of sales…

Switzerland's Art Basel sees Picasso and Hockney paintings sold for ... The flagship fair in the Swiss city brings together 290 galleries from 43 countries and territories and is one of the year's top events for contemporary art sales. It opens to the public on Thursday after two days reserved for wealthy collectors who flock to the event in search of exceptional pieces. On Tuesday, a 1963 painting by Pablo Picasso, titled "Le peintre et son modele dans un paysage", was sold for $35 million by Zurich gallery Hauser & Wirth. Basel Exclusive, a new initiative encouraging galleries to reserve significant works for their first public presentation at the fair, made its debut this year and saw another Picasso fetching between $6 million and $6.5 million for French gallery Almine Rech, according to the fair’s organisers. US gallery Gray sold a canvas by British painter David Hockney, who died last week at the age of 88, for $8.5 million. "The mood is very good, there is a positive, optimistic mood and feel. It's very buzzy," said Vincenzo de Bellis, artistic director and a member of Art Basel's executive team. "Certainly, we cannot deny that uncertainties and the geopolitical situation h…

Picasso painting sold for $35 million at Art Basel - Switzerland Many art pieces sold for millions in the first few hours of the Art Basel. Keystone-SDA Many works by Picasso, David Hockney, Louise Bourgeois and other blue-chip artists sold for millions in the first few hours of Art Basel. Listen to the article Listening the article Toggle language selector English (US) English (British) Generated with artificial intelligence. This content was published on June 17, 2026 – 10:26 +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox At this year’s Art Basel, major galleries, which usually specialise in contemporary art, are placing a strong emphasis on the blue-chip works of classical modernism. A major Picasso piece was on display at Hauser & Wirth and several others from the great Spanish master could be found not far away at Gagosian gallery. They are likely to have been buoyed by the positive outlook in the high-end sector of the art market, as highlighted in the Art Market Report by Art Basel and Swiss bank UBS. The sales report from the first few hours confirm this. Hauser & Wirth sold Picasso’s late work Le peintre et son modèle dans un paysage for $35 million (CHF27 mi…

An eight-figure Picasso sets the tone for Art Basel’s opening sales Art Basel opened on Tuesday with early sales pointing to strong broad-based demand across categories, generations, and price points – from museum-quality historical works to emerging names. Prices ranged from a few thousand dollars to an asking price of USD 35 million for Pablo Picasso’sLe peintre et son modèle dans un paysage(1963), offered byHauser & Wirth. Early activity reflected the international ecosystem that converges each year at Basel, including placements with major institutions and foundations across Europe, Asia, and North America. Here is a snapshot of Basel’s first-day sales. Basel Exclusive Anticipation was high for the inaugural Basel Exclusive, the fair’s new initiative for unveiling previously undisclosed key artworks during the VIP opening, with several of these works among the earliest reported sales. Almine Rechsold a Pablo Picasso painting for USD 6–6.5 million, whileSprüth Magersplaced a work from John Baldessari’s ‘Emoji’ series,INT. FRANK’S PENTHOUSE – EVENING BOBBY Reverse close-up(2017), with a European private collection for USD 500,000. Fortes D’Aloia & Gabrielreported a series of…

Art Basel opens with major Picasso, Hockney sales Art Basel made a splashy debut this week despite global turbulence, with an eight-figure sale for a Picasso during an invite-only VIP preview and a David Hockney fetching $8.5 mill...

Buyers snap up blue-chip works at Art Basel's opening day Pablo Picasso’s 1963 Cubist workLe peintre et son modèle dans un paysagewas the biggest ticket sale on the fair’s VIP preview dayPhoto: David Owens; © Succession Picasso/2026, ProLitteris, Zurich This year’s Art Basel opened with a series of strong, seven-figure sales during the VIP preview yesterday, suggesting continued demand for top-tier works despite any lingering uncertainty in the broader art market. For Art Basel’s director Vincenzo de Bellis, the opening-day figures reflected an increased trust in the market among both exhibitors and collectors. “If you look at the quality that the galleries brought, it’s a super sign of confidence from their side, which makes me very confident about where the market is,” he says. The most valuable transaction reported on the fair’s opening day, at the time of going to press, was Pablo Picasso’sLe peintre et son modèle dans un paysage(the painter and his model in a landscape, 1963), which was publicly offered at $35m by Hauser & Wirth. The fleshy painting is a self-portrait of Picasso and his second wife Jacqueline Roque, depicted as a Cubist nude. “Basel is Basel. Clients come …