LONGMONT – This story might be too good to be true, which is why we're leaving it up to you to decide whether you believe it or not.
Don Norris of Longmont claims to have a pendant created by famed artist Pablo Picasso. He says it was given to him by a chance encounter nearly two decades ago.
"It was just an amazing event in my life," Norris said.
About twenty years ago, Norris decided to visit the famous "untitled Picasso monument" in Chicago. He went there in the middle of the night and ran into a homeless man.
"I kept checking my car and there he was almost face to face, scared me to death," he said.
Norris said the man talked to him for 45 minutes, spouting off random facts about Picasso until Norris handed him a $20 bill.
"When it was all over, that's when it became even stranger. He said 'you know, I met Picasso,'" Norris added.
"Uh, sure," Norris replied, but figured it would be best to play along, seeing as how the homeless man wanted to give him something in return.
"He said, 'here's what I want to give you,' and he pulled out this pendant," Norris said.
The man swore up and down the pendant was given to him by Picasso during a random encounter.
"I said, 'you can't give me that! If it is a Picasso, it would be worth a lot of money, maybe $100,000.' And he said, 'no, a million dollars!' And I said, 'yeah, probably,'" Norris said.
Regardless, Norris accepted it and thought nothing of it until recently. He's still not sure if it's real, but decided to put it on EBay anyway. In the posting, he explains the story and how it might be a dud but figured if he were to get any money for it, he would donate it to homeless charities, in an honor of the homeless man who gave him the gift. As the bidding stands, someone has already offered $95,000.
"I've met people that will lay down $9,000 or $10,000 like we spend nine or ten cents," he said.
Norris is asking for nearly half-a-million dollars for the pendant. He realizes that figure might not be realistic, but he also realizes the pendant might be unrealistic too.
At any rate, he doesn't care. If it doesn't sell, Norris says he'll hold on to it and his story. Which has already made him rich with happiness.
Picasso Pendant Story
Twenty years ago, or more, I was traveling in Chicago. I was driving my beautiful 1972 Briar Blue completely restored Corvette. I tell you this because I went to see the Chicago Picasso sculpture during the day and could only catch a glimpse of it as I drove by. There was no place that I wanted to park the Corvette. So I just drove past the sculpture several times, trying to take a photo of it as I drove by. Stopped to take a photo, but was honked at by a Chicago's police officer. That night, I got the brilliant idea to go see it at night. I left the motel around 1 am and got to the sculpture around 2 am. I was surprised by the traffic even that early in the morning. My plan was to just park in the street and walk up to the sculpture for 5 or 10 minutes, but there was too many people driving around. Then, I got this brilliant idea. I would just drive on to the side walk at the corner where the sidewalk sloped down to the street. I drove around again to see if my car would fit between the posts, and it would. I circled again and drove right up to the sculpture, as close as I could. I was wondering how large the ticket would be, but at that time I did not care. I wanted to see and touch the sculpture.
Twenty years before this I was teaching in Kenosha, Wisconsin and was watching the news closely as the city of Chicago was "selling" the idea of the Picasso to the public. Even though it was being paid for by charitable organizations, some were criticizing the city for any time and money being spent on the sculpture. Some wanted a sculpture of historical people instead. Then when they showed the design, there was an up roar of how bad it looked. Picasso made sure that everyone knew that he would not accept the $100,000.00 that was offered to him. I really wanted it to be built and wanted to go see it. It was built and my wife and I did go see it once, walked around it, but were so broke we could not afford to park the car for a very long period of time, and most of that was walking to it, and back to the car. My wife was unimpressed, but I liked it. I did not get to touch it!
So, now, with my car parked on the side walk and at 2:00 AM, I was going to spend as much time as I could with the sculpture. I climbed up and touched it. A small dream comes true! I climbed down and was taking some pictures and looking at it from all angles, but nervously glancing back at my car every minute or so. I was there about 10 minutes, turned around to see my car and was freighted so bad, by a "street person" that I jumped back, and almost screamed. He was taller than me, wrapped in several dark blankets that seemed to cover him from head to toe. At first I could not make out the color of his skin, maybe he was a black man, or his face was dirty, or just because his face was in the shadow of the blanket that was wrapped around his head and draped down over the sides of his face kept his face in the dark. I was a little scared to tell the truth.
Then without warning he took a step toward me and said, loudly, "Do you know what that is?" It startled me enough to step back a step, and quickly said, "Yes, I am an artist, Silversmith and teacher, it is a Picasso, but I don't know its name." He took another step closer to me, and we stood less than a foot apart, almost face to face. "Picasso, that is its name! Picasso!" again he said in what seemed to be a shout, but was more of a deep loud voice. Then he began to tell me when it was built, who commissioned it, why Picasso decided to take the commission, and that he gave it to Chicago and the people for free. He explained that he did not build it, a steel company built it, and they were paid some $300,000.00 for it. He told me that the city got the last laugh at the people that did not want it built. He told me that the city brought in 30 million dollars of extra tax money within the first year from tourists that came to see it. He laughed heartily as he told me this. He went on telling me how much it weighed. Even though I was standing there, trying not to back away, because every time I did, he moved in closer than before, and all the time I was trying to figure out where he had came from. One second he was not there, the next second he was talking to me.
I wanted to get out of there, but he was so interesting that I continued to listen and ask a question or two, for which he had more than an answer. Then I offered him a $20.00 bill, hoping he would not kill me. He declined the money. "No, no, I am telling you this because I love the sculpture, not for money. You know I met Picasso once." I lifted up the $20.00 bill and explained to him that I get paid to teach, and for what he taught me twenty dollars seemed cheap!" At the same time, it seemed that he just noticed that it was $20.00 and not just a dollar bill, and he grabbed it. "You do not believe me do you?" he said, not with anger, but questioning. "Yes, I believe you, how did you meet him?" I asked just to seem nice and interested. "Just like I met you, he came here one night years ago, and I started talking to him, just like you. It took me a while then I recognized him. I asked him if he was Picasso. He smiled and said yes. He told me that I knew more about his sculpture than he did!" I was still scared and now was hoping that a police patrol would catch me parked on the sidewalk! I thanked him, and he said something that I did not understand. I turned to take another photo and said good bye in an attempt to tell him it was a nice visit, but time to leave me alone. I took a photo and slowly turned around and he had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared!
I was somewhat relieved and somewhat startled. How could he just appear and disappear? I started looking at the drainage holes as I walked to my car, and was thinking that they were large enough for him to get down into if he laid down first and rolled into it. I turned back towards my car and there he was again! He looked at me as if he knew he had just scared me to death and said, "I told you that I would be back and wanted to show you something." As he reached in his pocket, I was thinking it was a gun! I was afraid he saw the money in by billfold and wanted it all! I almost started to run. He pulled out a small metal figure. "Picasso made this and gave it to me that night to wear." It was a pendant. It looked like something Picasso would make, but more as a model for a sculpture than jewelry. "I used to wear it, show it to people, but they never believed me, then the chain busted and I quit wearing it. You are the first I have shown it to for many years. I am giving it to you." "No you aren't!" I blurted out with out thinking. He reacted in a way that I almost started to run away. He just stepped up to me, what was so close that I could smell his breath which was not as unpleasant as I had imagined. "I want you to have it. You listened and talked to me more than anyone since Picasso did." I declared "I cannot take it. It is worth a lot of money! It would not be fair to you for me to take it." He looked at me and grinned, "Do you really believe that anyone would believe me?" I did not want him to realize that I did not really believe him, but just wanted to get out of there so I said, "Well, I believe you." "Then you take it, cherish it as I have." I took it from him, and as I started to the car was feeling guilty. I did not know what else to do. Then I turned and told him to wait a minute.
I went to the car and got out some twisted copper wire that I took everywhere with me and still do. I told him that I wanted to make him a sculpture too. I made him one of my hummingbird copper wire sculptures. As I did, I told him that I was a Silversmithing teacher and would treasure this pendant forever. I told him how I made three of these copper sculptures every day and gave them to people I did not know. It took me about 30 seconds to make as I was still in a hurry to get the hell out of there. As I handed it to him, he grasped my hand in his fist. "Oh, thank you so much. It is a beautiful butterfly." Then as he saw the look of disappoint on my face, he looked at it again, and said, "Oh, it's a bird!" It seemed as though he held my fist and the bird for several minutes. as he looked at it, and I think enjoyed the touch of my hand, then let go.
I quickly got into my car as he was looking at it under the street light. I started the car and began to back up. He stepped in back of my car and started to guide me to the small ramp. I backed up, past him, and was looking out my rear view mirror, as I pulled into the street. I turned my head forward, put the car in forward, and was starting to wave good bye, but he was again, nowhere. He had disappeared.
For all these years, I have revisited this event in my mind. Marveled at how it is one of my fondest memories. It could not have been more than 10 to 15 minutes, but I recall it as if it was yesterday. I have always wondered why I did not ask him his name, or he of mine. Who was he? Where did he come from that night, or go to? I put the sculpture away in a box of my jewelry that was not for sale. Told my wife about it and showed it to her. She did not think much of it and like me did not think it was a real Picasso. She did not want to wear it, so there it has set for all these years. I would tell people the story of that night, but never told them about the small sculpture/pendant. As he said, who would believe it anyway? Now and then, I thank that mystery man for the beautiful memory of a night that scared the crap out of me and ended with two people leaving each other with a memory and a smile every time. I hope it did the same for him.
I am thinking he is no longer alive and for sure no way to ever find him. I have no idea as to how old he was, but I got the idea he was much older than I was by his voice. I remember him every time I meet a stranger that gives me the creeps. I remind myself, this could be someone that is worth paying attention to.
After all these years, I am going to sell it. I can't do anything with it. No one should believe that it was made by Picasso himself. After all these years I do believe it, well sometimes, and then sometimes I don't. Then I think to myself, if Picasso did visit the sculpture late at night as I did, and this wonderful creature appeared to him, offered up all this information about his own sculpture, then maybe, just maybe, he would give him a small treasure in return. It is possible, and then again, I have no explanation of why the impromptu curator from under the streets would make up such a lie for me.
So that is the story of this sculpture/pendant. It has influenced hundreds of simple pendants that I have made over the past 20 years or so. I plan on making more simple wire pendants of faces for my art show during the World's Largest Art Show in November. I am putting it up for bid for many reasons. If it is a Picasso, I do not feel like I should have shoved it in a cigar box with my pieces that I will not sell. I do not really think I should hang on to it. It will surely just be thrown away, after I pass on. I do not need it for the memory is burned into my mind. However, if it is a Picasso, then it is worth, well priceless, to someone.
I did just have a thought. I am wondering wouldn't it be great if the street person was Picasso way back then, disguised as a street person, and playing his own joke, ON ME!
- Don Norris, Longmont
(KUSA-TV © 2014 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
