Picasso’s Youngest Child, Paloma Ruiz-Picasso, Has Been Named Administrator of His Paris-Based Estate

Paloma Ruiz-Picasso, the youngest of Pablo Picasso’s four children, has been named administrator of the artist’s Paris-based estate. 

As administrator, Ruiz-Picasso will oversee reproduction and resale rights, trademarks, and other issues of intellectual property related to Picasso and his seven-plus decades of work. She replaces her brother Claude, who voluntarily stepped aside after serving in the role since 1989, according to the AFP, which first reported the news.  

The lawyer for the Picasso estate, Jean-Jacques Neuer, told the news outlet that the move will be “very important for the art world.” Neuer did not immediately return a request for comment. 

Ruiz-Picasso, 74, is the daughter of the Spanish painter and French artist Francoise Gilot, who died at age 101 in June 2023. Beyond the associations implied by her name, she is best-known as a designer of jewelry, handbags, and perfume for brands including Yves Saint Laurent, Tiffany, and L’Oréal. Examples of her jewelry can be found in the permanent collections of the The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. 

The Picasso estate is jointly owned by the artist’s surviving children, Claude and Paloma Ruiz-Picasso, and his grandchildren, Marina Picasso and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso. The artist’s eldest child, Maya Widmaier Picasso, was also an owner before she passed away late last year. She is survived by her three children, Diana, Olivier, and Richard Widmaier-Picasso.

Last year, Marina Picasso, and her DJ son, Florian, announced plans to release some 1,000 NFTs based on a ceramic bowl made by Picasso in 1958. But the project was blocked by the Picasso estate, reportedly leading to infighting within the family. Florian Picasso ultimately released the digital collectibles under his own name, but the series proved to be a flop.  

 

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