Historical, Culturally Diverse, Standards-Based Art Lessons to Inspire Young ArtistsPicasso could be capricious when it came to authenticating his own work. “Claude began to authenticate, and at one time authentication required two signatures. In the early 1980s, after years of legal wrangling and well-publicized squabbling over the settlement of his estate, his heirs established a committee to officially authenticate his works. We shuddered at the idea that opinions would differ.” Opinions did differ. While Maya was both shocked and displeased with this news, she is now 77-years-old. Stolz takes us back to September 2012 when four of Pablo Picasso’s five living heirs, Claude Picasso, Paloma Picasso, Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, and Marina Ruiz-Picasso, dispersed a letter proclaiming a new procedure for authenticating unique original works by Picasso. While the heirs initially established an official committee to authenticate Picasso’s works, this committee was short-lived and disbanded in large part due to conflicting opinions between Claude and Maya Picasso. This created a situation that dealers say has been time-consuming and awkward, particularly because auction houses, faced with dual (and dueling) authentication options, were increasingly requiring certificates from both heirs. The authentication process begins with a comparative analysis of the work, comparing it with other works by the author. “Picasso’s name is usually underlined, and his signature is at a slight angle. No, I cannot sign it, madam, I’m sorry.” And on yet another occasion, an irked Picasso angrily covered a work brought to him for authentication with so many signatures that he defaced and effectively ruined it.Even today, 40 years after Picasso’s death, the question of how his heirs exercise their right under French law to authenticate his work is a knotty one.Picasso was, by some estimates, one of the wealthiest men in the world when he died, in 1973. Under French law, only individual heirs have inherited the moral right (or droit moral) to authenticate Picasso’s unique original works, as an artist’s descendants are assumed to have an inherent understanding of the artist’s works and are therefore entitled to issue certificates of authenticity. Even today, 40 years after Picasso’s death, the question of how his heirs exercise their right under French law to authenticate his work is a knotty one. Following the committee’s disbandment, these two heirs began issuing individual certificates of authenticity independent of one another. For decades, the art world has been consumed by confusion surrounding the proper authentication procedures for Picasso’s works. PICASSO-AUTHENTIFICATION For the attention of Mr Claude RUIZ-PICASSO 8 rue Volney 75002 Paris Tel 33 (0) 1 47 03 69 70 info@picasso-authentification.fr And on yet another occasion, an irked Picasso angrily covered a work brought to him for authentication with so many signatures that he defaced and effectively ruined it. Afterward, two of the heirs—Picasso’s daughter Maya Widmaier-Picasso and son Claude Ruiz-Picasso—began issuing certificates of authenticity independent of one another. This created a situation that dealers say has been time-consuming and awkward, particularly because auction houses, faced with dual (and dueling) authentication options, were increasingly requiring certificates from both … Afterward, two of the heirs—Picasso’s daughter Maya Widmaier-Picasso and son Claude Ruiz-Picasso—began issuing certificates of authenticity independent of one another. While Marina, Paloma, and Bernard have not particularly utilized this right, Maya and Claude have been authenticating Picasso’s unique original works for years.In light of this new letter, it would appear that Claude is currently the one to address in regards to authenticating a potentially unique original work by Picasso. All rights reserved. © Masterworks Fine Art Gallery. Picasso Experts has ample experience to deduce or interpret any data relevant to the investigation of provenance and authenticity.
(Figs. Even today, forty years after Picasso’s death, feuding and disagreements between his legal heirs have greatly complicated matters of authentication. While some entries in this catalogue identify the original owner, our entry unfortunately did not, but dated the work to 1923. In 1993, however, that committee was disbanded after disputes among the heirs over the authenticity of a set of drawings.