Many works by Picasso, David Hockney, Louise Bourgeois and other blue-chip artists sold for millions in the first few hours of Art Basel. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox At this year’s Art Basel, major galleries, which usually specialise in contemporary art, are placing a strong emphasis on the blue-chip works of classical modernism. A major Picasso piece was on display at Hauser & Wirth and several others from the great Spanish master could be found not far away at Gagosian gallery. They are likely to have been buoyed by the positive outlook in the high-end sector of the art market, as highlighted in the Art Market Report by Art Basel and Swiss bank UBS. The sales report from the first few hours confirm this. Hauser & Wirth sold Picasso’s late work Le peintre et son modèle dans un paysage for $35 million (CHF27 million). Hauser & Wirth also achieved several other sales in the millions: these included, amongst others, a work by Cy Twombly for $5 million …