‘Amazing’ Picasso portrait up for auction after going unseen for 80 years

Acquired in 1944, it has never reappeared on the market until now

A striking Picasso portrait is set to go under the hammer in Paris this Friday, having remained unseen for over eight decades.

The vibrant artwork, titled Bust of a Woman with a Flowered Hat (Dora Maar), was painted in July 1943.

It depicts Picasso’s long-time muse and partner – an accomplished artist and photographer in her own right – in a brightly coloured hat.

The painting was acquired in 1944 and has since been held within a private family collection, never reappearing on the market until now.

The Drouot auction house, where the sale will take place, has hailed the re-emergence of the piece – part of Picasso’s renowned "Woman in a Hat" series – as "a moment of rare significance, revealing for the first time the full radiance of a work long kept secret".

At a preview this week, Picasso specialist Agnes Sevestre-Barbé marvelled at how vivid the portrait has remained.

Art expert Agnes Sevestre-Barbé with the portrait (AP)

“We have a painting that is exactly as it was when it left the studio,” she said.

“It wasn’t varnished, which means we have all its raw material, all of it. It’s a painting where you can feel all the colors, the entire chromatic range.

“It’s a painting that speaks for itself,” she added. "You just have to look at it — it’s full of expression, and you can see all of Picasso’s genius.”

Previously, Ms Sevestre-Barbé noted, the work had only been seen in a black-and-white photograph.

“We couldn’t imagine from this photo that this painting was so colourful, so amazing, really.”

Auctioneer Christophe Lucien said the work was of huge interest across the globe.

“It's being talked about in all the world capitals with a strong art market, from the United States to Asia, and of course through all the major European markets,” he said, declining to give an estimate of an ultimate sale.