Rogi-André (Rosa Klein). Picasso. 1935.
Gelatin-silver print, 15 1/8 x 11 3/8".
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Frank Crowninshield.
April 28September 17, 1996
This first comprehensive survey of the portrait work of Pablo Picasso featured
more than 130 paintings and 100 drawings and prints. The exhibition was
organized by William Rubin, Director Emeritus, Department of Painting and
Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art, in collaboration with the Réunion
des Musées Nationaux, Paris.
Picasso's intimate portrayals of his family, lovers, and friends redefined the
meaning of representation to an extent unequaled by any other painter in the
twentieth century. The artist painted his sitters repeatedly and in widely
divergent styles, and the contrasting views reflected in these multiple
portraits were underscored in the exhibition by the grouping of works according
to subject. Many of the works were on view for the first time in America.
Photographs, often by such major artists as Man Ray, and brief biographical
notes on the sitters accompanied the portraits.
Publication
Picasso and Portraiture: Representation and Transformation. Edited
by William Rubin, with essays by Anne Baldassari, Pierre Daix, Michael C. FitzGerald,
Brigitte Léal, Marilyn McCully, Robert Rosenblum, William Rubin, Hélène
Seckel, and Kirk Varnedoe. 496 pages, 216 color illustrations, 541 black-and-white
illustrations.
Official Picasso Web Site
More images from "Picasso and Portraiture," as well as information about
Picasso-related events, are available on the official
Picasso Web site at www.clubinternet.com/picasso (Site no longer available).
The exhibition was sponsored in part by Philip Morris Companies Inc. An indemnity
was granted by the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. The
accompanying publication was made possible by generous grants from the William S.
Paley Foundation, Inc., and the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund,
with additional support from Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro, and Mrs. Donald B.
Straus.
