Image: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
View source →Women of Algiers (Version A)
Pablo Picasso, 1954
Technical Details
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
60 × 73 cm (23.6 × 28.7 in)
Style
Cubism / Late Period
Decade
1950s
About This Work
The first of 15 variations on Delacroix's Women of Algiers in Their Apartment, this canvas begins Picasso's most sustained late-career dialogue with the Old Masters. The Delacroix original is transformed through Cubist fragmentation, the odalisques' bodies broken into interlocking planes of color. The series progresses through the alphabet from Version A to Version O, each exploring a different aspect of the composition.
Picasso began the Women of Algiers series on December 13, 1954, shortly after the death of his friend Henri Matisse. The series is widely interpreted as a tribute to Matisse, whose own odalisque paintings had been deeply influenced by Delacroix. The final version (O) sold for $179.4 million in 2015.
Current Location
Valuation & Provenance
2026 Estimated Value
$15–25 million (est.)
* Estimates are based on comparable auction results and market analysis. Not a formal appraisal.
Last Known Sale
$5.8 million
2011
Sotheby's New York
Keywords
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Picasso: A Life Documentary
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