After two members of the Picasso family claimed to be selling the master’s artworks as NFTs, the rest of the family has denied the claim.
A few days ago, Pablo Picasso’s granddaughter Marina and her son Florian announced that they would be selling 1010 NFTs of the ceramic artworks by the late artists. In a detailed report by Associated Press (who were invited to Marina’s house), she explained the plan of minting NFTs. She also revealed that the NFTs would be auctioned in March by Sotheby’s. Along with the NFTs, Florian (who is a DJ) would also be offering a complimentary track.
However, as soon as the report was published, counter-claims were quick to come. The rest of the Picasso family clarified that neither the original tiles nor their NFTs are going up on sale. Jean-Jacques Neuer, the lawyers representing the Picasso estate and the use of the artist’s name, released a statement, stating: “The information given through the media by which the Picasso heirs would join into the market for ‘Pablo Picasso’ NFTs is completely wrong.” The Sotheby’s also clarified that no such auction is scheduled by them.
Since then, Marina and her son have retracted their original claims. Florian’s lawyers stated that the whole thing was a misunderstanding, and admitted that their clients should have been more clear from the beginning. They also mentioned that the NFTs being sold belong to Florian alone, and not his great-grandfather.
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The joint ownership of the Picasso estate, his works and his name belong to the three children and two grandchildren of the artist. However, it is Picasso’s son Claude Ruiz Picasso who is the chief administrator of the entire estate and makes primary decisions about major use of Picasso’s works. As such, the creation and sale of NFTs of the artist’s works would not occur without his approval.
