DIDDY SPENDS $21MILLION ON PAINTING

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been revealed as the buyer of Chicago artist Kerry James Marshall’s “Past Times,” the work that sold at auction this week at Sotheby’s for $21 million, reports The New York Times.

The thirteen-by-nine-foot canvas, which depicts a black family picnicking in a Chicago park, is noted as the most ever paid for the work of a living African-American artist, and the painting originally debuted at the Whitney Biennial in 1997, and was sold to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority in Chicago that same year for $25,000.

On Thursday, Marshall’s New York dealer, Jack Shainman verified to The New York Times that Diddy was the buyer, saying, “I know that this work has found a home in a collection with purpose and an eye toward preserving legacy—that of Sean Combs, and that means a lot.”

Interestingly, the hip-hop mogul was introduced to Marshall’s work by musician and producer Swiss Beatz, who is also a passionate art collector, and Diddy viewed the painting firsthand at Sotheby’s before the sale.

Additionally, Marshall’s work has received increased recognition lately, which depict events from African-American life, and the subjects they embrace such as portrayals of youths, homes, nudes, and family.