Picasso’s Family Is at Odds With His Work Turning Into NFTs

Art + AuctionsPicasso’s Family Is at Odds With His Work Turning Into NFTsMore than 1,000 pieces of digital art are on the line

By Jessica Cherner

February 1, 2022

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There’s no denying that we live in the Digital Age. Ever since the Internet was invented in the early 1980s, people have been doing seemingly everything from behind the comfort of a blue-hued screen. We can send dissertation-length messages through email, wack a tennis ball by way of virtual reality, and even shop for groceries on a delivery app. And until recently, one of the few remaining activities that could be enjoyed in person just went digital: admiring art. Not just any art; original works by some of the world’s most famous artists—even Pablo Picasso.

Spanish artist Pablo Picasso is more famous for his paintings, including his massive 1937 Guernica, but the NFTs created by his great-grandson are inspired by one of Picasso’s ceramics.

Photo: Archivio Cameraphoto Epoche/Getty Images

Last week, the artist—who died in 1973—was making headlines around the world with some unexpected news: His granddaughter Marina and her son Florian, a DJ and music producer, will mint more than 1,000 NFTs for sale based on Pablo’s work—specifically a large ceramic bowl he sculpted in 1958 that, until now, no one outside the family had known about or even seen. It’s big news for major art collectors and the crypto community, who constantly have their eyes on the big auction houses, eagerly awaiting a piece from one of the 20th-century greats to become available—even if it’s not something they can hang in a frame.

Originally, the main sale was to take place on a dedicated website hosted by the decentralized marketplace Origin Protocol. Matt Liu, Origin Protocol cofounder, explains, “For this particular drop, Marina and Florian Picasso’s team approached us, as they felt that [the] NFT platform Origin Story would offer them all the technology and branding capabilities needed to bring the entire sale to life in a big way.” The nuance of this particular platform? “Origin Story is a pretty incredible, first-of-its-kind platform that lowers the barrier of entry for all creators by offering a streamlined way to mint their own NFTs and sell them on the platform’s customizable storefronts,” Liu adds. There will be a sale of 1,000 NFTs on Man and the Beat, powered by Origin Story, and an auction of 10 exclusive NFTs on Nifty Gateway. 

A preview of the NFTs that will go on sale.

Photo: Courtesy of Origin Protocol

But like anything that seems too good to be true, the Picasso heirs may have announced the news of their patriarch’s resurfacing art before clearing it with the rest of the family. The Paris-based Picasso Administration manages works held by five of Picasso’s living heirs, including Maya Widmaier Picasso, Claude Picasso, Paloma Picasso, Marina Picasso, and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso. And the Administration is set up in such a way that it has the power to instantly shut down any potential mishandling of Pablo’s intellectual (or physical) property. Claude, the family’s official administrator, vehemently rejects his niece’s and her son’s plan, which means any NFTs created in the name of Pablo Picasso would technically be counterfeit, and fake art—even if its authenticity rests on a technicality—doesn’t do well at auction.

As of late last week, the family announced that they wouldn’t be selling (or even revealing) any works of digital art linked to Picasso’s work after all. In fact, the Picasso Administration’s homepage is stamped with a bold announcement that says (in French): “Mrs. Marina Ruiz Picasso, Mr. Florian Picasso, and the administrator of the Picasso Estate, Mr. Claude Ruiz Picasso, as well as the Picasso Administration would like to clarify that there is no “Picasso” NFT” authorized by the Picasso Estate. NFTs by Florian Picasso and his collaborators were his own creation, independent of any claim vis-a-vis Pablo Picasso and his works.”

Pablo Picasso and his son Claude, who is now the Picasso family administrator.

Photo: Bettmann/Getty Images

Cyril Noterman, Florian’s longtime business manager, admitted to the Associated Press: “Maybe we should have been a bit more clear from the beginning.” That may be an understatement, as one of the most significant draws to this specific sale was that it would be accompanied by an auction, hosted by Sotheby’s, of the ceramic bowl that inspired the crypto-art project. The renowned auction house, however, denied any involvement with the NFT aspect of the sale. In a statement to the Associated Press, Matthew Floris, a Sotheby’s spokesman, said, “Sotheby’s has clarified that it will not be selling an NFT of a work by Pablo Picasso.”

Luckily for the Picassos, scandal never managed to hurt their family name, and this one—even with obvious undertones of greed and fraud—is hardly an exception. In fact, Picasso family squabbles may even be good for business, but until the next one unfolds in the public eye, only time and appreciating prices will tell. Florian still plans on selling his NFTs on Origin Protocol later—perhaps when all of this blows over, and the public is even more interested in seeing what the young Picasso has produced.

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