Wanda Group buys Picasso’s ‘Two Children’ masterpiece for US$28.16m; It is the first time that a Chinese enterprise purchased a Picasso painting in the West

November 6, 2013 Leave a comment

Wanda Group buys Picasso’s ‘Two Children’ masterpiece for US$28.16m

By Wang Jie | November 5, 2013, Tuesday |  ONLINE EDITION

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Picture shows Picasso’s painting “Two Children,” which depicts the famed artist’s three-year-old son and one-year-old daughter. China’s biggest real estate developer, Wanda Group, bought the painting for US$28.16 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York yesterday. WANDA Group, one of China’s biggest real estate developers, bought one of Picasso’s paintings for US$28.16 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York yesterday. It is the first time that a Chinese enterprise purchased a Picasso painting in the West.Founded in 1988, the business of Wanda Group has diversified into areas including hotels, cinemas, karaoke centers and department stores since 2005.

The painting purchased by Wanda was created by Picasso in 1950, and titled “Two Children.” The children in the painting are his three-year-old son and one-year-old daughter.

“This is one of Picasso’s favorite paintings, which had been hung in a conspicuous space at his studio until his death,” said Guo Qingxiang, the man who is in charge of Wanda’s art collection department. “We are pleased to purchase this painting at such a price, especially with the global economic slowdown, because another of Picasso’s paintings, ‘Boy with a Pipe,’ broke the world auction record at US$104.16 million in 2004.”

According to Guo, this is the first step in Wanda’s plan to widen its collection of Western masterpieces, apart from its current collection of Wu Guanzhong, Shi Qi and Li Keran, all heavyweight names in Chinese modern art.

In 2012, Wanda Group acquired the United States-based cinema operator AMC Theatres for US$2.6 billion.

Since 2012, Wanda has been the name sponsor of the Chinese Super League football league. From 1994 to 2000, it was the primary sponsor for Dalian Shide FC (which was named Dalian Wanda FC at the time.)

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