Picasso and Françoise Gilot Exhibit in NYC

While in New York City this past weekend visiting friends, I happened across a lamp post advertisement featuring one of my favorite portraits ever, Femme au collier jaune (1946) by Pablo Picasso.  (This image should be familiar to anyone who reads my blog!)  Turns out this privately owned work is in New York as part of the exhibit, “Picasso and Françoise Gilot: Paris–Vallauris 1943–1953” at the Gagosian Gallery from May 2 – June 30, 2012.  Having not previously heard about the exhibit, I stumbled upon the poster around the corner from the gallery; clearly this was fate!

The surprisingly impressive show pulls together select domestic, intimate pieces by Picasso of Françoise Gilot (his mistress from 1944 to 1953) and of the two children they had together.  The portraits are not strongly cubist but are notable for their bold lines and compositional simplicity.  I especially liked a series of printed portraits of Gilot that had been altered and refined through 10 iterative versions while still maintaining a relatively high degree of realism.  A skilled artist herself, I really enjoyed seeing Gilot’s paintings alongside Picasso’s.

Since photography is not allowed in the exhibit, the following shots are from the NYC Loves NYC blog which attended the opening night celebration.

Admiring a portrait of Gilot and children by Picasso (Photo: Noel Y. C., NYC Loves NYC blog)

Two bright family portraits by Gilot if I remember correctly (Photo: Noel Y. C., NYC Loves NYC blog)

Viewing Femme au collier jaune(1946) which is on loan from a private collection (Photo: Noel Y. C., NYC Loves NYC blog)

Additional images available from Gagosian Gallery here.