A Pablo Picasso painting has sold for $139.4 million at a Sotheby's auction in New York . The painting, titled "Femme à la montre," depicts Marie-Thérèse Walter, who was known as Picasso's "golden muse" and appeared in several of his works. 

The painting was bought on the spot by art collector Emily Fisher Landau in 1968  and was one of the first major art pieces of her collection. This, alongside works by Henri Matisse, and Mark Rothko hung above Fisher Landau’s mantle, accounting for one of the 120 total. 

It is not the first time the art scene has witnessed the high-priced selling of a Picasso painting at an auction.  In 2015, "Women of Algiers (Version O)" sold for $179.4 million, setting a record. Meanwhile, "Femme nue couchée" sold for $67.5 million at its auction debut at Sotheby's in New York last year . 

More humble auction prices include Picasso’s  "Le Tricorne," which sold for $150,000 at a Massachusetts auction in 2021. 

The sale of this painting confirms that the vitality of the art market is still present despite the Covid-19 pandemic.