Christie's in London will sell a coveted Blue Period Picasso portrait, owned by the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's Art Foundation, with a conservative estimate of between ₤30 million ($49.8 million) and ₤40 million, the highest for a work of art offered at auction in Europe.

The June 23 sale of Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto (The Absinthe Drinker) will be closely watched as a possible contender for top auction price paid for an artwork. Undoubtedly, with this year's record-breaking price of $104.3 million for Giacometti in mind.