Who is the artist who drew pictures on the backs of the checks he wrote?

[bluemoonKY]

When I was English class in either the 7th or 8th grade, my English teacher told the class that there was a famous artist who drew pictures on the backs of his checks. The famous artist drew pictures on the backs of his checks because he thought (correctly, according to my teacher) that people would tend not to cash the checks in order to have a picture drawn by this famous artist.

I don't remember who this artist was. Is someone going to ask me "what does it matter?" I'm curious about who it was. That's why it matters to me.

What famous artist drew pictures on the backs of the checks that he wrote?

 

[turbo]

That's a Picasso story. I have no idea if it's true, though.

 

[phinds]

I've heard this story several times (and yes, it is about Picasso) but I have never seen ANY reference to anyone actually having such a check and I believe that if they existed, some art historian would have tracked down at least a few of them and they would be in a book. I have heard it more reputably stated that he would pay small amounts with checks in the (correct) belief that people would rather have his autograph than cash the check.

It's a great story, though.