This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) is generally acknowledged as the greatest draftsman of the 20th century. Through some 55 works, the exhibition presents the dazzling development of Picasso's drawings over a 30-year period—from the precocious academic exercises of his youth in the 1890s to the virtuoso works of the early 1920s, including the radical innovations of cubism and collage. Drawing served as an essential means of invention and discovery in Picasso's multifaceted art, connecting him with the grand tradition of drawing by European masters of the near and distant past.

Organization: The exhibition was organized by The Frick Collection, New York, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington. The curators of the exhibition were Susan Grace Galassi, senior curator, The Frick Collection; Marilyn McCully, an independent scholar and Picasso expert; and Andrew Robison, A.W. Mellon Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings, National Gallery of Art. 

Sponsor: The exhibition was made possible by The Hearst Foundation, Inc., and by The Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art. This exhibition was supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. 

Attendance: 120,949

Catalog: Picasso’s Drawings 1890-1921: Reinventing Tradition, by Susan Grace Galassi and Marilyn McCully. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2011.

 

Other Venues: The Frick Collection, New York, October 4, 2011–January 8, 2012