The Incredible Story of Picasso’s 'Femme assise, robe bleue'

Discover the story of this searing portrait of the artist’s muse, Dora Maar — a painting that was confiscated soon after its creation, and subsequently recovered by the Free French Forces during the Second World War.

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Painted on 25 October 1939 — the artist’s 58th birthday — Femme assise, robe bleue is a searing portrait of Picasso’s lover, Dora Maar. The work is filled with the unique character and tension that mark Picasso’s greatest portraits of Maar.

This picture was formerly owned by G. David Thompson, the Pittsburgh steel magnate. The art historian Alfred H. Barr described Thompson as ‘one of the great collectors of the art of our time’. Many works from his collection now grace the walls of museums in the United States and Europe.

‘Femme assise, robe bleue exhibits all of the most exhilarating qualities that Maar brought out in Picasso’s work,’ says Jessica Fertig, Senior Specialist in Impressionist and Modern Art in New York, referencing the striking palette, ornate headwear, and remarkable complexity conveyed by Maar’s distorted features. The rich, thick swirls of oil depicting the mass of her hair — which mesmerised Picasso — and the shapes of her hat convey ‎the passion at the core of this portrait.

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