Unseen Picasso painting fetches #8m at Christie's

London, Feb 3 (ANI): A portrait by famous Spanish painter Picasso, which had remained hidden from the public for 43 years, is said to have been sold for 8,105,250 pounds at a Christie's auction.

The portrait, Tete de Femme (Jacqueline) painted in 1963, is of Picasso's second wife, which had not been seen in public since 1967, and which had been expected to fetch just 3 million pounds to 4 million pounds at auction.

It had never been offered for auction and had remained in the same collection since 1981, and it was one of the most talked-about paintings along with other masterpieces by Picasso, Renoir and Matisse.

Jacqueline was said to have had a short neck and the artist would often "humorously" exaggerate its size in portraits.

However, the identity of the winning bidder was not be revealed by Christie's, whose Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale, in London on February 2, was on course to raise nearly 70 million pounds.

"It's been a very busy evening and many of the pieces have exceeded estimates," the Telegraph quoted Christie's spokeswoman as saying. (ANI)