Pablo Picasso’s endless fascination with his lover’s character and form
led to radical shifts in his conception of portraiture and the mystical metamorphoses that the act of creation entails. Picasso’s secretive love affair with Marie-Therese Walter, which began in 1927, inspired a radical shift in his conception of portraiture. The exhibition and catalogue present Marie-Therese as a primary vehicle for his experimentation during the period, including several works never before seen in the United States as well as previously unpublished personal letters and photographs.  Picasso and Marie-Therese sheds new light on the interpretation of one of the most creative relationships in Picasso’s rich and varied oeuvre.     

About The Author

John Richardson is the author of a multivolume biography on the life of Picasso; the fourth and final volume is forthcoming. His memoir The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was published in 1999, followed by a collection of essays and reviews, Sacred Monsters, Sacred Masters, in 2001. He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, and Vanity Fair. Diana Widmaier Picasso is an art historian who has written widely on Picasso’s work. She is the granddaughter of Pablo Picasso and Marie-Therese Walter. Elizabeth Cowling is professor emeritus of history of art at Edinburgh University, a curator of Picasso Looks at Degas (2010) and Picasso: Sculptor/Painter (1994), a contributor of numerous catalogue essays on Picasso, and the author of Visiting Picasso: The Notebooks and Letters of Roland Penrose (2006) as well as the seminal Picasso: Style and Meaning (2002).