Photographer Sues Over Canvas Prints Inspired by His Iconic Portrait of Notorious B.I.G

Contact sheet for “King of New York,” a 1997 photo of rapper Biggie Smalls by Barron Claiborne via court documents

A photographer has filed a lawsuit against major retailers which allegedly sold canvas art prints that were inspired by his iconic “King of New York” portrait of rapper Notorious B.I.G.

Photographer Barron Claiborne took the famed portrait of Biggie Smalls just three days before the rapper’s death in March 1997 from a drive-by shooting.

The photograph — which is one of the most defining images of the late rapper — features Biggie looking straight into the camera with a plastic crown tilted on his head against a deep red background, symbolizing his status as “The King of New York.”

On Tuesday, Clairborne and the estate of Notorious B.I.G. filed a lawsuit against retailers such as Target, Home Depot, Nordstrom, and others in Illinois federal court.

The photographer and the rapper’s estate allege that these retailers sold canvas prints illegally created by art company iCanvas that included his iconic image of Biggie Smalls.

The estate and Claiborne claim that iCanvas sold these canvas prints and used Biggie Smalls’ “persona, name, image, and likeness, and related marks,” as well as elements of Claiborne’s King of New York photo, without permission since at least 2015. In addition to selling them directly, the lawsuit claims the prints were also sold by Bed Bath & Beyond, Home Depot, Nordstrom and Target — each of which is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

“Defendants used Mr. Wallace’s persona, name, image, and likeness, as well as several trademarks relating to him, and Mr. Claiborne’s K.O.N.Y. series photographs, for many years, across numerous items, and in multiple ways, without authorization,” Claiborne and Notorious B.I.G. LLC say in the lawsuit.

According to Courthouse News, the plaintiffs say they reached out to iCanvas in 2023 about trademark-infringing items, and that while the shop did remove the specific items they mentioned in that communication, other infringing items remain available for purchase. The publication reports that iCanvas continues to sell multiple Biggie Smalls-themed pieces online, including artwork incorporating elements of the King of New York portrait.

The lawsuit also states that Home Depot, Nordstrom, and Target removed the offending products after the plaintiffs contacted them in 2023, but Bed Bath & Beyond allegedly continue to sell them.

The lawsuit claims that the sale of the canvas prints not only infringed photographer Claiborne’s copyrights to “The King of New York” image but also breached federal trademark law and violated the rapper’s likeness rights.

It’s not the first time the Notorious B.I.G. estate has sued over photographs. In 2019, the estate sued hip-hop photographer Chi Modu over his famed 1996 image of Biggie standing in front of the World Trade Center. The estate claimed that Modu’s copyright was irrelevant and that the photographer was violating the rapper’s likeness rights by using it on merchandise.

Image credits: Header photo via U.S. District Court documents.