Skip to Main Content

Picasso: The Cubist Portraits of Fernande Olivier

October 1, 2003 – January 19, 2004
East Building, Mezzanine, Northwest

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

Overview: Presenting 23 paintings, 27 works on paper, and 3 sculptures created between the spring and fall of 1909, this exhibition was the first devoted exclusively to Picasso's portraits of his companion Fernande Olivier. Works in various pictorial media, including painting, drawing, watercolor and gouache, as well as photographs, were presented. The sculptures included an early bronze cast Head of a Woman (Fernande), recently acquired by the National Gallery.

Organization: The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Jeffrey Weiss, curator of modern and contemporary art at the National Gallery, was curator.

Sponsor: The exhibition was supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Attendance: 161,009

Catalog: Picasso: The Cubist Portraits of Fernande Olivier, by Jeffrey Weiss, Valerie Fletcher, and Kathryn A. Tuma. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 2003.

Other Venues: Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas (reduced selection of works), February 15–May 9, 2004

Picasso, Pablo
Spanish, 1881 - 1973