$70 Million USD MoMa Art Collection Expected To Be Sold in Order to Fund NFT Purchases
Including classic works from Picasso, Bacon, Rousseau and Renoir.
The Museum of Modern Art is looking to expand its digital footprint in the world, possibly looking to acquire the museum’s first NFTs.
With the help of the William S. Paley Foundation, MoMa is slated to auction off at least $70 million USD worth of art masterpieces to fund its purchase of NFTs. Since the CBS co-founder died in 1990, MoMA has been caring for William S. Paley’s personal collection of art. Paley’s foundation currently holds endowment funds used for MoMa and its educational and cultural programs. The foundation has currently listed 29 of the 81 pieces of the MoMa collection with Sotheby’s to raise money to fund the purchase of NFTs.
In a recent interview with Wall Street Journal, MoMa’s director Glenn Lowry has outlined a rough idea of where the funds will be allocated post-sale. MoMa has considered launching its own streaming channel as well as hosting a series of virtual exhibits and video conversations with creators or collaborators with universities to offer online courses. However, for crypto fans, MoMa is also planning on purchasing the museum’s first NFTs.
Some of the pieces hitting the auction block include some of art history’s most well-known pieces including Pablo Picasso‘s 1905-06 “Boy Leading a Horse” as well as Matisse’s “Woan with a Veil.” Other paintings from Rousseau and Renoir are set to be auctioned off as well. Francis Bacon’s “Three Studies for a Portrait of Henrietta Moraes” is slated to fetch $35 million USD while Picasso’s “Guitar on a Table” is said to sell for at least $20 million USD. In total, the collection is expected to fetch between $70 to $100 million USD. It is uncertain which NFT pieces MoMa is looking to acquire with the funds.
In other art news, Pieter Ceizer’s latest wood sculpture encourages you to “dream.”
