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Picasso: The Artist and His Models

Saturday, November 5, 2016Sunday, February 19, 2017

Installation view of Picasso: The Artist and His Models, with Picasso's Three Musicians, 1921; La toilette, 1906; and Bather, winter 1908–09. Photograph by Tom Loonan.

1905 Building
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Picasso: The Artist and His Models explores the career of multifaceted artist Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973) between 1906 and the mid-1960s. At the core of this exhibition is an exploration of Picasso’s extraordinary ability to translate three dimensions into two-dimensional evocations. His countless models, which naturally included his friends and his lovers, also comprised mundane objects whose shapes and interrelations intrigued him. Throughout his work, the artist engaged with other important archetypes from literature, music, theater, fashion, and popular culture, as well as history and art. His close personal relationships with many of his subjects allowed him to distill their energy and infuse it into works of art across various mediums.

This presentation features significant paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints by Picasso from the Albright-Knox's collection. Additional iconic paintings by the artist, which have been carefully selected from museums in both Europe and the United States, will draw connections between the conceptual and stylistic developments of his work. This exemplary grouping will be contextualized by a further selection of works by Picasso’s contemporaries from the Albright-Knox’s collection. These include Georges Braque (French, 1882–1963), Stuart Davis (American, 1892–1964), Albert Gleizes (French, 1881–1953), Juan Gris (Spanish, 1887–1927), Fernand Léger (French, 1881–1955), Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954), Jean Metzinger (French, 1883–1956), Georgia O’Keeffe (American, 1887–1986), and Morgan Russell (American, 1886–1953), among others.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973). Three Musicians, 1921. Oil on canvas, 80 1/2 × 74 1/8 inches (204.5 × 188.3 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art; A. E. Gallatin Collection, 1952. 1952-61-96 © 2016 Succession Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973). La toilette, 1906. Oil on canvas, 59 1/2 x 39 inches (151.1 x 99 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Fellows for Life Fund, 1926 (1926:9). © Succession Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973). Bather, winter 1908–9. Oil on canvas, 511/8 x 381/8 inches (129.8 x 96.8 cm). The Museum of Modern Art; Louise Reinhardt Smith Bequest. © 2016 Succession Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Digital Image: © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973). Nude Figure, late spring 1910. Oil on canvas, 39 x 30 3/4 inches (99.1 x 78.1 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; General Purchase Funds, 1954 (1954:11). © 2016 Succession Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973). Harlequin with Violin, 1918. Oil on canvas, 55 15/16 x 39 7/16 inches (142.2 x 100.3 cm). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1975.2. © 2016 Succession Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973). Femme en vert (Dora) (Woman in Green [Dora]), 1944. Oil on canvas, 511/8 x 381/8 inches (130 x 97 cm). Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, Beyeler Collection. © 2016 Succession Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Peter Schibli, Basel.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973). Still Life with Skull, Leeks, and Pitcher, March 14, 1945, 1945. Oil on canvas, 28 3/4 x 45 5/8 inches (73 x 115.9 cm). Collection Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, de Young. Museum purchase, Whitney Warren Jr. Bequest Fund in memory of Mrs. Adolph B. Spreckels, Grover A. Magnin Bequest Fund, Roscoe and Margaret Oakes Income Fund and Bequest of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick J. Hellman, by exchange. © 2016 Succession Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973). The Women of Algiers (after Delacroix), 1954. Oil on canvas, 25 5/8 x 28 5/8 in. (65.1 x 72.7 cm). Collection Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art; Gift of the Carey Walker Foundation, 1994.2.2. © 2016 Succession Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. 

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973). Rape of the Sabine Women, 1963. Oil on canvas, 76 7/8 x 51 5/8 inches (195.3 x 131.1 cm). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Juliana Cheney Edwards Collection, Tompkins Collection—Arthur Gordon Tompkins Fund, and Fanny P. Mason Fund in memory of Alice Thevin. Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. © 2016 Succession Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Georges Braque (French, 1882–1963). Still Life on a Mantelpiece, ca. 1923. Oil and sand on canvas, 25 1/2 x 30 inches (64.8 x 76.2 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Room of Contemporary Art Fund, 1941 (RCA1941:22). © Estate of Georges Braque / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.

Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954). La Musique, 1939. Oil on canvas, 45 3/8 x 45 3/8 inches (115.3 x 115.3 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Room of Contemporary Art Fund, 1940 (RCA1940:13). © Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

The ensemble of works in Picasso: The Artist and His Models reveals the ways in which the artist played a major role in the development of modern art by calling into question conventional ideas about art as the imitation of reality. Throughout his prolific career, Picasso varied his hand, often reinventing himself as well as his models. In some cases, he reimagined the same subject numerous times, making his ingenuity all the more evident. However, the matrix of all his subjects was the theater of life: the sensory experience in which he was simultaneously an actor and an observer. By reconciling these two roles, Picasso created an enduring visual dialogue that remains infinitely complex and dynamic.

Picasso: The Artist and His Models is the second chapter in the Albright-Knox’s “Transformations in Modern Art” exhibition series, launched in 2015 with Monet and the Impressionist Revolution, 1860–1910.

This exhibition is conceived by Peggy Pierce Elfvin Director Dr. Janne Sirén and organized by Sirén and Godin-Spaulding Curator & Curator for the Collection Holly E. Hughes.

Special museum admission is required to view this special exhibition during M&T FIRST FRIDAYS @ THE GALLERY. Please see below.

Exhibition Sponsors

This exhibition was made possible through the generosity of M&T Bank. Additional support has been provided by Ferrero USA Inc. and Fondazione Ferrero Onlus; Superior Group; The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation Funds at the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo; Amy and Harris Schwalb; Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP; C2 Paint; and by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.