Christie's to auction Picasso painting

Christie's has put a record price tag on an important Picasso painting. The estimate of 30 to 50 million pounds or up to 75 million US dollars is the highest for any work of art going under the hammer in Europe.

Christie's has put a record price tag on an important Picasso painting.

The picture, from his celebrated Blue Period, will be offered for sale in London on June the 23rd. Picasso's work, featuring his artist friend Angel Fernandez de Soto with a glass of absinthe and a pipe, the smoke curling upwards, is being offered by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, and the proceeds will go to his foundation which promotes arts and culture in Britain.

The same work was originally offered for auction at Christie's in 2006, but it was withdrawn at the eleventh hour after an individual challenged its true ownership, saying it had effectively been stolen from his family by the Nazis.

Christie's has since resolved the challenge and the claim has been withdrawn.