Featured Artist: Pablo Picasso

About the Artist

Also known as: Pablo Ruiz Picasso, Pablo Ruiz y Picasso; His full name is Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Clito Ruiz y Picasso

Nationality: Spanish
Born: October 25, 1881 in Malaga, Spain
Died: April 8, 1973 in Antibes, France
Education: La Coruna; studied at La Llonja Art School, under his father, Barcelona, 1896-97; studied briefly at the Royal Academy of San Fernando, Madrid, 1897; in Cordona's studio, Barcelona, 1899-1900.
Family: Lived with Fernande Ulivier, 1905-1911; married Olga Koklova in 1918 (divorced, 1935) son: Paul; lived with Marie Therese Walter; daughter: Maria; lived with Francoise Gilot, 1946-53; children: Claude and Paloma; married Jacqueline Rogul in 1958.

Career: Painter and sculptor; maintained first studio, Barcelona, 1896; contributed illustrations to periodicals, Barcelona, 1900; visited Paris, and shared studio with Carlos Casagemas, 1900; founder, with Francisco de Assis Soler, Arte Jove, Madrid, and became art editor and illustrator, 1901; settled in Paris, 1904; spent summers in Southern France, from 1911; associated with Juan Gris, Georges Braque, Max Jacob and Andre Derain; visited Rome, with Jean Cocteau, and met Diaghilev, 1917; subsequently associated with Igor Stravinsky and Leonide Massine; designed costumes and scenery for Diahilev's Parade, Paris, 1971, and Le Tricorne, London, 1919; continued work on theatrical designs, until 1924; director, Prado, Madrid, 1936; committed to Republican cause during Spanish Civil War, and sold artwork to raise funds; exhibited "Guernica" at the World's Fair, Paris, 1937; lived near Paris during the occupation; joined French Communist Party, 1944; moved to the South of France, 1948; settled near Aix, 1958; moved to Mougins, France, 1961.
Awards: Honorable mention from Madrid exhibition of fine arts, 1897; gold medal from Malaga provincial exhibition, 1897; Carnegie Prize, 1930; honorary curator of Prado Museum in Madrid, 1936; Silver Medal of French Gratitude from France, 1948; Order of Polish Renascence commander's cross from Poland, 1948; Pennell Memorial Medal from Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, for lithograph "The Dove of Peace," 1949; Lenin Peace Prize from Soviet Union, 1950 and 1962.

Interesting Facts: On May 5, 2004: Picasso's 1905 painting "Boy with a Pipe (The Young Apprentice)" was bought by an anonymous bidder for $104.1 million at a Sotheby's auction. It was the highest price ever paid for a painting.
Source: New York Times, www.nytimes.com, May 6, 2004.