Picasso's Early work. June 27, 1955 Life Magazine

Exerpt from October 23, 1944 Life Magazine

Early Work is Found at Sister's in Spain

Though it has the most famous artist in the world for a relative, the family of Pablo Picasso in Spain has managed to remain surprisingly obscure. But an enterprising young American named Rosamond Bernier, who publishes with her French husband the art magazine L'Oeil, recently paid a call on Picasso's sister, Doña Lola de Vilato, in Barcelona and found not only a houseful of lively Latins but a trove of undiscovered Picasso paintings. Some—done in a somber, realistic style were painted by Picasso in his early teens before he left home. Others, in bright colors with curious designs, were done in 1917 when the artist was 36. During the summer of that year Picasso arrived in Barcelona with the Diaghilev Ballet Russe, for which he had designed some sets. He settled down with one of the ballerinas, whom he later married, and launched into an outburst of painting. After three weeks Picasso returned to France leaving his canvases in his sister's home. There they repose today, stacked in a dust-laden clutter or hung askew on the walls. But they are highly esteemed by the spontaneous, bohemian Vilatos who would never dream of selling them and who like to wander through the shadowy rooms of their apartment, holding matches up to get a better look at ''Uncle Pablo’s” work.

Full Article on Google Books   |  Visit the Archives