Photos by Picasso’s muse net five million Francs

The government also exercised its right of priority to acquire 17 other photographs or series of photographs which will go to the Picasso Museum in Paris.

These include an important series of original photographs showing Picasso working on his Guernica masterpiece painted in June 1937 two months after the German Luftwaffe bombed the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.

Several photographs show Picasso crouching and working on the Guernica painting at his Grands Augustins studio inParis.

The second highest bid was of 230,000 Francs (45,000 Dollars) for a photomontage of the Orangerie at Versailles, called 29 Rue D’Astorg.Three portraits of Nusch Eluard, the wife of poet Paul Eluard, went for 230,000 Francs, 150,000 Francs (30,000 Dollars) and 100,000 Francs (20,000 Dollars).

Maar whose real name was Theodora Markovitch (1907-1997) began her photographic career in 1931. She opened a studio in partnership with Pierre Kefer and began producing advertisement photographs and portraits.

But she also photographed street scenes featuring ordinary people and notably marginals like tramps or cripples and several scenes involving children.

Her talent was acknowledged by such renowned photographers as Brassai, Man Ray, Isis or Rogi Andre.

In 1936, she joined the surrealist movement and became friendly with Paul Eluard, Andre Breton and George Bataille with whom she became romantically involved.

Maar experimented with the techniques of photomontage, collage and double exposure, while atthe same time regularly taking photographs of her surrealist friends, Breton and Yves Tanguy. In 1936, she became the mistress of Picasso.

Friday’s sale comprised fashion photographs, nude studies, architectural subjects and interiors, surrealist experiments, portraits of friends and of herself taken by famous photographers.

A first series of photos was sold on October 29 at the same time as Maar’s collection of Picasso works and mementos which netted 200 million Francs (40 million Dollars).

Two other auctions of works by Maar, including drawings and paintings, will take place on November 26 and on December 7.