One of Pablo Picasso greatest works of art will be displayed in Dubai early next week.

The ‘Femme à la Montre’, or ‘Woman with Watch’, will be the centrepiece of a two-day exhibit hosted by Sotheby’s at Dubai International Festival City from September 25 to 26.

This will be the first time since 1968 that the Picasso masterpiece will be on display outside the United States.

The exhibit will be open to the public from 2pm to 5pm on September 25, and 10am to 7pm the following day.

The owner since 1968 and famed collector Emily Fisher Landau, had kept the artwork hanging over the mantlepiece in her New York apartment for over half a century. It is following her death earlier this year that this $120 million dollar (Dh440,746,800) piece of artistic brilliance is being toured away from home.

The Femme à la Montre’s significance derives from titular woman, as well as the year it was painted. The portrait, painted in 1932, stars Marie-Thérèse Walter, dubbed Picasso’s ‘golden muse’ for their passionate yet clandestine love affair, and possibly for her blonde hair too.

It was during this year that Picasso’s artistic expression had reached new heights, as he produced a multitude of renowned works in a remarkably short amount of time. Many included his golden muse, with the maestro even completing four masterfully crafted portraits of her within a single week.

It is from this artistic streak, regarded as Picasso’s ‘annus mirabilis’, or miracle year, that the centrepiece of the upcoming Dubai exhibit belongs.

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