Picasso: Seven Decades of Drawing

A rare look at the exceptional works on paper from private collections by the master of modern art. 

“There’s nothing more difficult than a line.” –Pablo Picasso
 
Picasso: Seven Decades of Drawing surveys Pablo Picasso’s prodigious career as a draftsman, including over 40 examples on loan from private collections spanning nearly 70 years of the artist’s long and celebrated career.
 
The book showcases drawings in a wide range of media, from works in charcoal and crayon to colored pencil, collage or papiers collés, graphite, gouache, ink, pastel, and watercolor.
 
Some of the drawings on loan are rarely on view and they provide insight into the evolution of his iconic paintings, such as Les Demoiselles d’Avignon and Guernica, while others stand alone as virtuoso, independent works, highlighting Picasso’s mastery of line, form, and medium. The book ultimately examines how drawing serves as the vital thread connecting all of Picasso’s art.

Olivier Berggruen is a German-American art historian and independent curator based in New York. Christine Poggi is Judy and Michael Steinhardt Director and Professor of Fine Arts at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.