The proceeds of the sale are going to the original James Bond actor’s charity foundation.
A few weeks after Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe painting sold for a record $195 Million, another famed artist’s work sold for a headline-worthy price tag.
On May 26, Pablo Picasso’s 1969 painting Buste D Homme dans un cadre sold at Christie’s Hong Kong for $22.3 million. Interestingly, its former owner was the late Scottish actor Sean Connery.
Before his death in 2020, the original James Bond actor planned to fund charities after passing away. In line with this, the sale proceeds will benefit foundations in Scotland and the Bahamas—where Connery and his wife, Micheline, lived for over 30 years.
To help others
“It is a privilege for Christie’s to have been entrusted by the family of Sir Sean Connery with the sale of this fabulous Picasso self-portrait,” Adrien Meyer, co-chairman of impressionist and modern art at Christie’s, said in a statement,
” No wonder is it that a titan of the film industry was drawn to this tour de force by the greatest modern art titan of all.”
While Christie’s is a global auction house that holds sales in London, New York, Milan, Dubai, and Amsterdam, to name a few, Connery’s stepson, Stephane, says that Hong Kong was a location he would have preferred.
“It seems fitting that this work would be sold in Asia as Sean had a tremendous affinity for Asia and its culture,” Stephane, an art adviser, said.
Philanthropy lives on
“Sean had an extraordinary sense of aesthetics, composition, and movement honed by his career in a visual medium as well as his long marriage to Micheline, a fine and internationally-exhibited painter,” he continued.
“He loved and owned numerous works by Picasso, and upon seeing ‘Buste D Homme Dans un cadre,’ he was captivated by its expressive power and freedom.
Throughout his life, Connery has prioritized helping others. According to his official website, the Academy Award winner “has donated to and supported hundreds of charities literally.”
In fact, he donated his over $1 million salary from his Bond film Diamonds Are Forever to the Scottish International Educational Trust he co-founded. Currently, his passion for giving is ongoing through his namesake Philanthropic Trust, which his family heads.
Banner photo from @sean.conneryofficial on Instagram.
