Silver State Times

Eleven pieces of work by Pablo Picasso were auctioned for more than $110 million recently in Las Vegas. The pieces had been on display in the Bellagio Hotel’s French and Spanish restaurant named Picasso, CNN reported Oct. 24.

“Picasso artworks in Las Vegas sell for more than $100 million," Twitter user Jim Person tweeted. "The sale was part of a bid by MGM Resorts to diversify its collection to include more art from women, people of color and emerging nations and artists with disabilities. ”

Part of the MGM Resorts Collection, the pieces sold represented the largest and most significant fine art sale ever in Las Vegas. It coincided with Picasso’s 140th birthday and was the first sale organized outside of New York by the auction house Sotheby’s.

Picasso lived from 1881 until 1973 and spent much of his adult life in France. He is called the father of the Cubist style of painting. The star of the auction was "Femme au béret rouge-orange," or "Woman in a reddish-orange hat." It’s a 1938 portrait of Picasso's lover and muse Marie-Thérèse Walter, according to CNN. Initially estimated to sell for between $20 and $30 million by Sotheby's, it was auctioned off for more than $40 million.

The auction also featured two Cubist-inspired still life paintings from the early 1940s during World War II. "Nature morte au panier de fruits et aux fleurs" ("Still life with fruit basket and flowers") sold for $16.6 million. "Nature morte aux fleurs et au compotier" ("Still life with flowers and fruit bowl") sold for $8.3 million.