James Bond star Sean Connery's ‘sensational’ Picasso takes home whopping £17.7m at auction

express.co.uk:

James Bond star's family put the artwork up for sale to raise funds for the Sean Connery Philanthropic Fund.It will donate money to good causes in Scotland and the Bahamas, where the star lived with his wife Micheline for more than 30 years.Edinburgh-born Sir Sean bought Buste D'Homme Dans Un Cadre a few years before his death aged 90 in October 2020.The 1969 painting was sold in Hong Kong yesterday by auction house Christie's and had been expected to fetch at least £15million.Auctioneer Georgina Hilton wore a Bond-style tuxedo in tribute to 007 and described the painting as “sensational”.The bidding started at £10 million and received five offers before attracting a final price of £17.7million, including the buyer's premium.The most expensive Picasso ever sold at auction was Les Femmes d'Alger (Version 'O') which sold for $179.4 million (£142 million) in 2015.Speaking before the sale, his stepson Stephane Connery, an art adviser, said: “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 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.“It seems fitting that this work would be sold in Asia as Sean had a tremendous affinity for Asia and its culture.”He added: 'Before Sean passed away in 2020, he allocated a sizeable portion of his estate to be used for philanthropic purposes.“We - his family - are now working to create a fund that will offer support to organisations that reflect Sean's interests and passions, and serve to keep his legacy of integrity, opportunity and effectiveness.