Pharrell’s GODA completes Hilma af Klint NFT art auction amid family complaints

Co-founded by musician Pharrell Williams earlier this yeargives the Gallery of Digital Assets (GODA) a platform for traditional artists to enter NFT place, and has delivered drops from Nina Chanel Abney and Todd James.

But the latest NFT launch was mired in controversy after some of the late artist’s descendants complained.

GOOD launched an auction Monday for tokenized digital recreations of influential Swedish abstract artist Hilma of Klinthis artwork. “Paintings for the Temple” Ethereum NFTs were created by GODA in collaboration with Stolpe Publishing, digital art platform Acute Art and the Hilma af Klint Foundation.

In the end, two identical sets of 193 digital NFT recreations of af Klint’s artwork were minted, with one “non-commercial” set donated to the foundation. From the second set, 163 NFTs were auctioned this week, with another 30 pieces held by the GODA team. The NFTs were launched in tandem with the late artist’s official catalog raisonnéor a comprehensive collection of her work.

But while the official foundation participated in the GODA auction, members of the late artist’s family (Hilma af Klint died in 1944) have spoken out in opposition to the NFT launch.

In an interview with art publication Hyperallergenic this week af Klint’s grandchildren Johan af Klint and Hedvig Ersman – grandchildren of Erik af Klint, Hilma af Klint’s nephew – contested the creation of the NFTs, claiming that they went against the artist’s wishes. Ersman had tweeted criticism of the NFT sale earlier this month.

“She saw these paintings as part of one project. They were meant to be held together,” Ersman told the publication. and uses Hilma af Klint’s name and reputation to undermine her message.”

An NFT is a blockchain token that represents ownership of an object—in this case, a digital recreation of the original physical artwork. NFTs are also used for things like profile pictures, collectibles and video game items, as well as physical goods and event tickets.

The artwork itself is in the public domain, and managing director Jessica Höglund of the Hilma af Klint Foundation told Hyperallergenic that it was not “in [a] position to either permit or oppose such reproductions. However, she said that the foundation has a collaboration in place with Stolpe for catalog raisonnéand that agreement includes NFTs.

On Thursday, just before the auction ended, GODA became tweeted a statement notes that it “[affirmed] that all necessary contracts and agreements are in place to validate the project’s authenticity” via the Foundation. GODA shared a new statement with Decrypt regarding the situation, claiming that family members had “falsely” attempted to represent the foundation.

“GODA was not made aware of any unhappy family [members] before they started misrepresenting the foundation on Twitter,” the statement said. “This was the first time we were aware of any concerns. We made an agreement with Acute Art and Stolpe Publishing that gave us this opportunity, as we are the most legitimate and credible art platform in the digital space.”

“Between our parties, we have a very good legal agreement directly with the foundation. From our understanding, this is a distant relative who has no involvement whatsoever with the foundation, the statement continues. “The foundation has also made an official announcement clearing this up and explaining why catalog raisonné, and in the extension of the NFT project, is important for Hilma’s work.”

GODA’s auction ended as planned yesterday, with 163 pieces ultimately selling for 1.5 ETH each, or just over $1,800 each. The auction format ranked bidders by how much they were willing to pay, but set the final price based on what the 163rd highest bidder offered.

In other words, the top 163 bidders paid 1.5 ETH each in the end, and buyers received a discount for any outbid amount. GODA Mint Pass NFT holders were also reimbursed for 15% off the sale price. The artwork was revealed today, allowing buyers to see which randomized piece they purchased from the drop.

This is not the first case of a famous artist’s surviving family members complaining about an apparently official NFT case. Earlier this year, relatives of Pablo Picasso complained when the late artist’s great-grandson Florian Picasso released NFTs inspired by Pablo’s work. The Picasso family resolved the dispute soon after.