In 1991, the first volume of John Richardson’s biography of Picasso was published. I know, because I had a copy. Why did I buy that book? After all, I didn’t have a compelling interest in Picasso. I was (and still am) an avid art lover, and I quite like Picasso’s paintings, but why buy an expensive hardcover biography of the artist? And why this one—there are a bunch of biographies of Picasso to choose from. It’s going to seem ridiculous, but it all came down to the fact that one of my best friends is named John Richardson. The coincidence was what tipped me over the edge.
And I loved the book. The amount of detail was staggering, and Richardson’s strong opinions made every volume a lively reading experience. Additionally, it was beautifully designed and illustrated. Every few years after 1991, Richardson would publish another volume.
John Richardson died in 2019. I assumed that meant he would never finish his project. The third volume was published in 2007, and I’m guessing that Richardson was mostly done with volume four when he died. I just got my copy of A Life of Picasso: The Minotaur Years, 1933-1943.
I haven’t read it yet—I just got it in the mail today.
Of course, Picasso lived 30 years beyond 1943. I wonder if Richardson wrote about those years, too, before he died. I’m certain that Richardson would agree that Picasso’s last 30 years were the least interesting, artistically and personally, of Picasso’s life, so even if Richardson didn’t leave a pile of index cards which some Knopf editor can transform into volume five of A Life of Picasso, I’m more than satisfied. I look forward with pleasure to reading what is probably John Richardson’s last book.
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I love Picasso, warts and all. I have all the books. The last was not as full of info as the others. Richardson did not finish it. His staff did. Read them all a couple of times. I will miss his take on Pablo's last 30 years.
Robert, I remember how excited I was when the first Picasso volume by John Richardson came out.. Finding it on Prince Street, just west of Broadway at one of the book tables. There were several tables of art books on the sidewalk run by blacks… Many were mint condition new books; how they got them was a mystery. Don’t remember the exact price but it was perhaps half of the retail price marked on the inner flap of the book. It was a great buy for me. And a great read.