Picasso Heirs Jump on the NFT Bandwagon, Auctioned Tokens to Be Accompanied by Music From John Legend and Nas

NFT (Non-Fungible Token) Futuristic Background.
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Pablo Picasso’s heirs are the latest to cash in on the booming business that is the NFT space, as they recently announced they are selling 1,010 digital art pieces of one of his ceramic works — a work that has never before been seen publicly — the Associated Press reports. The news has NFT investors abuzz with excitement.

“We’re trying to build a bridge between the NFT world and the fine art world,” Florian Picasso, the artist’s great-grandson, told the AP.

Auction house Sotheby’s will host an auction in March that will include a unique NFT as well as the actual ceramic bowl, according to the AP. Picasso’s heirs said they aim to create a younger community of Picasso fans.

“Everything is evolving,” Florian Picasso told the AP, noting that the NFT honors the artist. “I think it fits within Picasso’s legacies because we are paying tribute to him and his way of working, which was always being creative,” he said.

NFTs to Blend With the Art World, Analysts Suggest

Dan Reitzik, CEO of metaverse company TerraZero Technologies, told GOBankingRates that “art’s legacy in culture has always been driven by the inherent value communities invest into the art and the artist’s work — just as much as any artist’s raw talent and genius.”

“With NFTs, blockchain and the metaverse, we are dawning on a new era where any artist or work of art can engage with communities faster and with deeper meaning than at any other point in human history. In the next year, more people will be introduced to Pablo Picasso than ever before,” he added.

2021 was a record year for NFTs — non-fungible tokens — as the global market value of these digital investments hit $23 billion, according to blockchain analytics firm DappRadar. The term was named Collins’ Word of the Year for 2021, and now, NFTs’ value is surpassing the market cap of some publicly traded companies. Some degree of mainstream consciousness for NFTs came when auction house Christie’s sold Beeple’s NFT for $69.34 million in March. Other top NFT sales in 2021 included Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) for $26.2 million.

Some of the proceeds of the Sotheby’s auction will be donated, the AP reports, with one portion going to a charity that aims to help overcome a shortage of nurses. Another portion will be headed to a nongovernmental organization that wants to help reduce carbon in the atmosphere.

The NFTs at this Sotheby’s auction will by accompanied by music compiled by Florian Picasso, who is a DJ and music producer, along with songwriter John Legend and rapper Nas, the AP added.

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