Dora Maar

France's Francoise Gilot, who died on June 6 aged 101, survived what she called the "hell" of being Spanish artist Pablo Picasso's mistress and muse to become a renowned artist in her own right.

The Picasso Museum in Paris confirmed her death to AFP, after the New York Times reported Gilot had passed away following recent heart and lung ailments.

Property damage charges have been leveled against a Londoner who damaged a Picasso painting at the Tate Gallery of Contemporary Art (Tate Modern) in London, the BBC reported.

The gallery gave no details about its condition. A spokesperson said: "The work of art is with our conservation team for expert assessment. Tate Modern remains open." The vandal says he pleads not guilty.

A Pablo Picasso painting depicting his muse Marie-Therese Walter with future lover Dora Maar emerging from the shadows behind is expected to fetch an eye-watering sum at a London sale next week.

A bronze sold for $57.37 million in New York on May 15, setting a new auction record for Romanian-born sculptor Constantin Brancusi and fetching more than twice its lowest pre-sale estimate, Christie's said.

As auction powerhouses Christie's and Sotheby's gear up for their New York spring sales, hopes are high that a host of major works the likes of which have not hit the block for several seasons will reap strong, even record, prices.

A painting seized by Turkish authorities that was reported to be a stolen Picasso is a fake, the Picasso Administration, charged with managing the artist's estate, said on Feb. 1.

The organization said the canvas is a copy of a 1940 work by the great Spanish artist, "Woman Dressing Her Hair," and the original is in the hands of New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Police in Istanbul have recovered a stolen painting by Pablo Picasso in an undercover sting operation, Turkish officials said on Jan. 30.