Price $104, 168,000 USD in 2004, it was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1905 at the age of 24 during Rose period, a period in which Picasso preferred cheerful orange and pink colors. The oil on canvas painting depicts a Parisian boy holding a pipe in his left hand, crowned with garland of roses.
It was painting soon after settling in Montmarte, France.
The record price auction at Sotheby's New York on May 4, 2004 was a bit of a surprise to art buyers, since it was painted in the style not usually associated with the pioneering Cubist artist.
Bought for $30,000 by John Hay Whitney and his wife, Betsy Cushing Whitney in 1950, the painting was seen at distant intervals in major exhibitions dealing with the artist, from the 1967 Grand Palais retrospective in Paris to the 1996 portrait show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The portrait was thus both famous in art history and forgotten. This maximized its impact.
Pablo Picasso – Garçon à la pipe
