LONDON — The second highest auction price for any work of art ever sold in Europe was crowned on Pablo Picasso’s “Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter)” as the 1937 portrait painting brought $69.2 million in Sotheby’s February 28 Impressionist and Modern Art evening sale.

Thomas Bompard, Head of Sotheby’s London impressionist & modern art evening sales said, “One of the greatest portraits by Picasso to appear on the market in recent years, this depiction of Marie-Thérèse from the 1930s – painted in the same year as Guernica and the Weeping Women – reveals Picasso’s mastery of the modern portrait. Of all of the artist’s styles and decades, this is the one that most epitomises the legacy of Picasso as a portraitist of women – with this particular painting encompassing all of the key elements for which he is recognized and celebrated. It undoubtedly represents what is most desirable for a connoisseur and collector of modern art.”

At the time of painting, Picasso was just winding down his relationship with the subject, Marie-Thérèse Walter, in favor of his new muse, artist Dora Maar.

For more information, www.sothebys.com or 212-606-7000.