Brigitte Bardot, the iconic French actress and animal rights activist, has died at age 91. The article highlights her enduring influence as an artists' muse, noting that a 1963 painting of Bardot by Gerald Laing sold for £902,500 at Christie's in 2014, and that Andy Warhol created a series of screenprints of her in 1974. Other artists who portrayed Bardot include Kees van Dongen and Peter Engels, while Pablo Picasso is said to have met her but never painted her.
This matters because Bardot's status as a muse to major 20th-century artists underscores the intersection of celebrity and visual art, particularly in the Pop Art movement. The high auction price for Laing's painting and Warhol's series, shown at Gagosian, demonstrate how Bardot's image continues to command attention in the art market and cultural history, linking Hollywood glamour with fine art collecting.