Earlier this week, Kerry James Marshallโs โPast Timesโ painting was sold at a Sothebyโs auction for $21 million USD. The buyer of this work was initially unknown, but has now been revealed to be none other than the Puff Daddy himself.
Sean โDiddyโ Combs purchased the thirteen by nine foot work depicting a black family in the midst of a picnic around Chicago park. The painting was originally unveiled at the Whitney Biennial in 1997, and sold to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority in Chicago later that year for just $25,000 USD.
Now, at its latest purchase price of twenty-one big Mโs (USD), โPast Timesโ has become the highest paid work from a living African-American artist. (Jean-Michel Basquiat is pretty hard to top).
โI know that this work has found a home in a collection with purpose and an eye toward preserving legacy,โ says Marshallโs New York dealer, Jack Shainman.
โThat of Sean Combs, and that means a lot.โ
Given Diddyโs lengthy tenure in hip-hop, as well as his sharp business acumen in ventures such as Cรฎroc vodka, $21 million USD is pretty much pocket change to the big man on campus. That being said, this shouldnโt be taken so lightly or in such a glib manner. As the entire exchange just goes to show that ballinโ has no limitsโ not even in the world of art appreciation or statements regarding race and social politics.
Take note, fellas.
