Author Description

This book was published on the occasion of A Foreigner Called Picasso at Gagosian, West 21st Street, New York. Curated by Annie Cohen-Solal and Vérane Tasseau, the exhibition was organized in association with the Musée national Picasso-Paris and the Palais de la Porte Dorée-Musée national de l'histoire de l'immigration, Paris. Spanning the entirety of Pablo Picasso's career in France from 1900 through 1973, A Foreigner Called Picasso reframes our perception of Picasso with a focus on his status as a permanent foreigner in France. This volume fully illustrates the more than eighty-five artworks in the exhibition with plates and installation photographs, organized chronologically into seven sections: “Prelude”; “1900-1906: 'Anarchist under Surveillance' in the Labyrinth of Paris”; “1906-1919: Leader of the Avant-Garde”; “1919-1939: Mercurial Artist under Siege”; “1940-1944: 'France for the French!'”; “1944-1955: The Communist Party as a 'Homeland'”; and “1955-1973: Head of a Mediterranean Tribe in His Kingdom.” It includes an introduction by Larry Gagosian; a conversation between Cohen-Solal, Cécile Debray, director of Musée national Picasso-Paris, and Constance Rivière, director of the Palais de la Porte Dorée; and a text by Paloma Picasso. The catalogue concludes with an homage to Claude Picasso (1947-2023), featuring a remembrance by Larry Gagosian. This publication is the first volume of a planned two-volume boxed set, with the second volume to include essays by the curators and contributions from leading international scholars--including Picasso experts, social scientists, and intellectuals at large--to further explore the important new perspectives opened up by this exhibition.