by Amy Foster Parish
At KMAC Museum, connecting people to art and creative practice has always been central to our mission. This December, we have the opportunity to further that mission by bringing an exhibition of Picasso’s work to Louisville, on view together for the first time in the United States. We’re thrilled about the opportunity, but staging an exhibition like this is a huge undertaking. We need your help to Bring Picasso to Louisville.
First, some history. In 1946, Pablo Picasso found himself in Antibes in the South of France. Seeking studio space, he secured some rooms on the upper floor of the town’s art museum, housed in an aging but still grand chateau on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. For a few months that fall, Picasso drew and painted, using boat paint and household paint brushes when art materials were in short supply.
The works Picasso produced during this time are now known as some of his most joyous. The Great War was finally ended, Picasso’s melancholy blue period was over, and the beauty of the South of France seemed to find its way into each piece - and sometimes onto the walls of the chateau itself.
Eventually Picasso moved on to Vallauris, just a mile or two down the coast. But he left behind him more than sixty drawings and paintings as a gift to the museum. “If you want to see the Picassos from Antibes,” he is supposed to have mused, “you have to see them in Antibes.” Indeed, over the next 70 years, the works have rarely travelled beyond the walls of the museum, now known as the Musée Picasso.
Now those works have a chance to make their way to the Derby City, and your donations can make it possible. Your dollars will help ensure that a selection of these works make the trip from the edge of the Mediterranean to the banks of the Ohio. Picasso in the Bluegrass: From Antibes to Kentucky will be free for members and children. A donation of $100 or more secures your KMAC Membership and helps ensure that local students can see this important exhibition at no charge.
Visit KMACmuseum.org/Picasso to learn more about the campaign and how you can help.