Ms. Picasso said that she had no photos of herself with her grandfather and had none of his works until she received her inheritance.
Her father, Paulo, was the son of Picasso and his first wife, Olga Khokhlova, a Russian ballerina. As Marina Picasso attempts to move on from bitter memories of her grandfather denying both her and her father money and any opportunity, Ms. Picasso has found a new light with the works of her illustrious grandfather: philanthropy.
- Photo Credit: The New York Times
However, art dealers are raving in both suspicion and weariness at the expected over overexposing of the artist’s work in a market that can see its price depreciate. Not working with major art dealers, which Picasso himself never did, leaves Mrs. Picasso vulnerable to wrong pricing and bad business, said the NY Times.
Picasso left no will when he died at 91, setting off a bitter struggle amongst his widow, children and grandchildren. Unexpectedly, Marina Picasso was one of the heirs inheriting one-fifth of the estate. The majority of her proceeds from the estate’s sales have gone towards her philanthropic ventures, such as funding a psychiatric unit for teenagers in crisis.
“I have paintings, of course, that I can use to support these projects.”
Marina Picasso is the daughter of Picasso’s son Paulo, and she has long kept her distance from the rest of the family. For years she was guided in her sales by Jan Krugier, a Swiss art dealer who curated and sold off many of the best works in her collection until he died in 2008, said the Times.
In just the last year, she has donated 1.5 million euros, roughly $1.7 million, to the hospital of Paris and France. Some of that went to the psychiatric emergency unit for teenagers.
Her timing is good: Last year, auction sales of Picassos were second only to those of Andy Warhol–$449 million last year in a $16.1 billion international market, according to Artnet, the New York-based art researcher.
– Hurtjohn
