Blockbuster Brisbane
The mere mention of the name Picasso is set to generate
intense excitement in Brisbane this winter. 
But
the fact that Picasso & his Collection is the second blockbuster
show in quick succession for the Gallery of Modern Art is likely
to have lines out the door.
Following up the wildly successful Andy Warhol exhibition
with this rare showing of highlights from Pablo Picasso’s
personal collection is something of a masterstroke for Queensland
Art Gallery director Tony Ellwood. The GoMA is quickly establishing
itself as one of the premier art institutions in the land; and
this exhibition (which is having its only Australian showing in
Brisbane) is a key factor in that process.
The exhibition represents the first time Pablo Picasso’s
personal art collection has been exhibited outside Europe. The
show comprises around 150 works from Picasso’s personal
collection plus some 30 important works by Picasso himself.
Henri Matisse,
Marguerite (Marguerite) 1906–07. Oil on canvas,
65 x 54cm, RF 1973-77, Donation Picasso 1973–78, Collection:
musée national Picasso, Paris. Photo RMN / © Rene´-Gabriel
Oje´da
It seems Picasso displayed impeccable collecting
taste during his life, because the collection includes paintings,
drawings, monotypes, objects and prints from the likes pf Balthus,
Georges Braque, Victor Brauner, Paul Cézanne, Gustave Courbet,
Salvador Dalí, Edgar Degas, Alberto Giacometti, Marie Laurencin,
Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri
Rousseau and many others.
So far as Picasso himself is concerned, the works
included in the exhibition have been selected to highlight their
direct relationships with works by friends and contemporaries
from the artist’s collection.
Among
the works are examples of Pacific and African artworks. The influence
of the art and sculpture of Africa and Oceania on Picasso is well-known
and reflected in some of his more important pieces. A special
highlight of this exhibition will be a 19th Century Torres Strait
Island mask, loaned to Queensland especially for the exhibition
by the Picasso family.
The exhibition is being staged in conjunction with
the Musée National Picasso in Paris; and is curated by
that institution’s director, Anne Baldassari, in conjunction
with the Queensland Art Gallery.
Many works in Picasso’s personal collection
were donated by Jacqueline Picasso to the French state in 1973.
They were originally exhibited at the Pavillon de Flore of the
Louvre from 1978 to 1984. Of the works from his collection that
remained with the Picasso family, some came to the state from
the settlement of the artist’s estate in 1979.
Henri Matisse,
Tulips and oysters on a black background (Tulipes et
huîtres sur fond noir) 1943,
Oil on canvas, 60.5 x 73cm, RF 1973-74, Donation Picasso 1973–78,
Collection: musée national Picasso, Paris. Photo RMN /
© Rene´-Gabriel Oje´da.
The Musée National Picasso opened to the
public in its home in the restored Hotel Salé in 1985 and
Picasso’s collection was transferred to it. Other works
originally in Picasso’s collection have come in to its collection
since that date through gifts and bequests.
As has been the practice of GoMA with its significant
exhibitions, Picasso & his Collection will be accompanied
by a curated film program in association with the exhibition the
Australian Cinémathèque. The gallery’s Children’s
Art Centre will also present a major program for children and
families.
David Edwards
