Rare Picasso found displayed in bedroom

updated 4:20 p.m. ET March 31, 2008

LONDON - A rare painting by Pablo Picasso is to be sold after it was discovered in a bedroom alongside two other important works.

Duke’s auction house said Monday the watercolor “Etreinte,” depicting the artist in an embrace with lover Louise Lenoir, was found propped up against a wall with two equine paintings by British artists George Stubbs and Alfred Munnings.

“To find just one of these works would have been incredible, but to find three was quite exceptional,” said Guy Schwinge of Duke’s.

It was thought to have been painted in 1901 or 1902 when the Spanish master was a struggling artist in his early 20s. It was authenticated by Picasso in 1969.

The identity of the seller remains anonymous. Each painting is estimated to reach $200,000 in the auction, which takes place on April 10.

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