TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – University of South Florida researchers have discovered a long-forgotten audio reel describing a plan to build a massive Picasso sculpture on the campus.
USF announced recently the 44-year-old audio reel was found in the school library’s special collection.
In the recording, artist Carl Nesjar – a Norwegian sculptor who was Picasso’s chosen fabricator, taking his drawings and scale models and giving them physical form as immense public sculptures – discussed the work. The researchers also found a composite photograph and sketches.
The plan was to sculpt Picasso’s “Bust of a Woman.” It would have been his largest single work and among the world’s tallest concrete sculptures.
The State Board of Regents approved it on April 9, 1973, a day after Picasso’s death, but did not agree to fund its estimated $10 million budget.
