Exhibition Through the Eyes of Picasso Draws Large Crowds in First Weeks
Kansas City, MO. Nov. 2, 2017–The grandson of artist Pablo Picasso will visit Kansas City to see Through the Eyes of Picasso, the exhibition that has been attracting large crowds to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art since opening October 20. Bernard Ruiz y Picasso, a major lender to the exhibition, will be honored at a private dinner at the museum Monday, Nov 6.
“We are honored to welcome the grandson of one of the world’s great artists to the Nelson-Atkins,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Menefee D. and Mary Louise Blackwell CEO & Director of the Nelson-Atkins. “It has been a great privilege to work with the Picasso family and Picasso Administration, and I particularly want to recognize Bernard for his incredible loans that have enhanced this exhibition so much. This exhibition is very personal to me; it has been my dream to bring a Picasso exhibition to Kansas City since I arrived here more than seven years ago, and the enthusiastic response from the public has been very gratifying.”
The Nelson-Atkins is the only U.S. venue for the exhibition, and many works in it are on view in America for the first time. The exhibition opened at Musée du Quai Branly in Paris and will be at the Nelson-Atkins through April 8, traveling then to Montreal from May 7 to Sept. 16, 2018.
More than 5,000 visitors flocked to the exhibition in its opening days, and it has garnered national attention from The New York Times and CBS Sunday Morning, with artnet News choosing it as one of 30 of the most important museum exhibitions to see around the world this season.
The exhibition features 170 works of art, including more than 60 paintings, sculptures and ceramics by Picasso alongside more than 20 works of African and Oceanic art that were part of his personal collection – pieces that he collected, lived with and kept with him in his studios, many of them featured for the first time in the Americas. Through the Eyes of Picasso showcases the works of art that transformed Picasso’s artistic vision when he first encountered them at the Musée d’ Ethnographie du Trocadéro (now in the collections of the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris) during the early part of the 20th century. For Picasso, the power of these masks and sculptures was in the artists’ exploration of line, abstraction of the human body, and its constant transformation.
Through the Eyes of Picasso also features a selection of intimate, personal photographs of the artist at work and play, including images by David Douglas Duncan. The Duncan images were a recent gift to the Nelson-Atkins.
The exhibition was curated by Yves Le Fur of Quai Branly, in partnership with Musée national Picasso-Paris. Zugazagoitia is organizing and adapting Through the Eyes of Picasso for the Nelson-Atkins.
Photo credit: Joshua Ferdinand
Image caption: Hopi Figure, Kachina, New Mexico. Date unknown. Carved and painted wood. Fundación Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso para el Arte – Madrid
This exhibition is presented by Bank of America.
The exhibition was conceived by musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in partnership with Musée national Picasso-Paris and adapted by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and The Montreal Museum of Fine Art/Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City is recognized nationally and internationally as one of America’s finest art museums. The museum, which strives to be the place where the power of art engages the spirit of community, opens its doors free of charge to people of all backgrounds. The museum is an institution that both challenges and comforts, that both inspires and soothes, and it is a destination for inspiration, reflection and connecting with others.
The Nelson-Atkins serves the community by providing access to its renowned collection of nearly 40,000 art objects and is best known for its Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, and new American Indian and Egyptian galleries. Housing a major art research library and the Ford Learning Center, the Museum is a key educational resource for the region. In 2017, the Nelson-Atkins celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the Bloch Building, a critically acclaimed addition to the original 1933 Nelson-Atkins Building.
The Nelson-Atkins is located at 45th and Oak Streets, Kansas City, MO. Hours are Wednesday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday/Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission to the museum is free to everyone. For museum information, phone 816.751.1ART (1278) or visit nelson-atkins.org.
For media interested in receiving further information, please contact:
Kathleen Leighton, Manager, Media Relations and Video Production
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
816.751.1321
kleighton@nelson-atkins.org