anyone want a picasso?
Houston man lists Picasso painting for sale on neighborhood website
UPDATE: The Picasso painting is now listed as sold. CultureMap has reached out to the seller for comment.
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As the fourth-largest city in the country, Houston is hardly lacking in head-scratching items for sale online. Consider the viral Craigslist ad that one local man posted for his dilapidated, 1999 Toyota Camry: “You want a car that literally no one will ever compliment you on? Well, look no further,” the hilarious post declared.
Adding to the annals of dubious items for sale in Houston is a recent listing on Nextdoor that has been making the social media rounds. A man in the Candlelight Oaks neighborhood is offering an “original Pablo Picasso painting with proper documentation for sale from early 1900s.”
Bypassing the usual (and, perhaps, safer?) art dealer route, the resident, listed as John Kiger, values the painting at $15,000 — but is willing to let it go for a mere $12,000. Kiger describes the painting as being from “Picasso's Blue Period (1901-1904), characterized by somber paintings rendered in shades of blue and blue-green, only occasionally warmed by other colors, began either in Spain in early 1901, or in Paris in the second half of the year.”
To assuage any doubts a serious collector may have, here are some highlights from Kiger’s Nextdoor post:
- The painting is professionally framed with UV glass.
- It includes COA (copy of authenticity).
- The item will be packaged properly before delivered to location with his own "security detail" (inside a bank, for example) for "safety and security"
- Kiger will include two other documents that include insurer policy for the painting and a registered certificate from the NFATR (National Fine Arts Title Registry).
- The frame and matting/glass "is not cheap."
CultureMap reached out to Kiger, who declined to officially comment, but does note that he collects and appreciates “certain items” and allows “others to truly enjoy them as well from time to time.”
For now, Houstonians will have to wait to see what future trinket the enigmatic Kiger is prepared to share on Nextdoor.
