Kurt Cobain's last photo shoot to be auctioned off as NFT

Jesse Frohman was the photographer responsible for Kurt Cobain's iconic final photo shoot, which took place just months before the Nirvana frontman's death in 1994. Those pictures, which show Cobain flaunting a trapper hat, leopard print jacket and oversized white sunglasses, quickly became famous and are some of the most well-known snapshots of the late rockstar. But Frohman kept a number of contact sheets and negatives that were never scanned and therefore never released to the public, and now he's offering them up as one massive NFT collection appropriately titled "The Last Session."

“Everyone was doing an individual picture here, an individual picture there, maybe a group of three here, but I wanted to do something that other people hadn’t done before,” Frohman told Rolling Stone. “It’s something so special that won’t be offered again.”

“The Last Session” package includes 104 images, contact sheets, and polaroids from the 1993 shoot. Frohman explains that when looked at in succession, the images are “like a cinema study,” as Cobain's energy notably shifts from the beginning of the shoot to the end. As such, he believes the auction winner won't merely be the owner for some famous photos—they'll become a “custodian of an enduring moment in music and culture.”

“I think of Kurt especially as an idol, and sort of a hero, for the crypto world,” Frohman explained. “They love to buck the system. To me, that’s what Kurt was. He was very anti-establishment — and he was outspoken about that. I think he would be very interested in the NFT art space.”

Bidding for "The Last Session" starts at 27.27 ETH (roughly equating to $72,000), which pays homage to Cobain's age. In addition to the digital set, the winner will also receive one full-sized print of their choice from the collection and their own photoshoot with Frohman.

Frohman is also offering the photos in smaller packages. There's the “Nevermind Editions” — 10 unique, colorized quadriptychs of Cobain — that are going for a starting bid of 2.7 ETH ($7,000), and the “In Utero Editions” — 20 colorized five-of-five portraits and Nirvana group shots featuring Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic — that have a buy-it-now price of 1 ETH, (roughly $2,600).

The auction starts at 12pm ET/9am PT on May 3, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the mental health nonprofit JED Foundation, which focuses on suicide prevention and mental wellness in American teens. You can view the collection HERE.