Francis Picabia

 (1879 – 1953)

Nu de dos, 1940-­‐42  Oil on board  

41 . x 30 in. / 104 x 76 cm.  

Provenance:  

Kent Fine Art, New York  Dakis Collection, Athens  

Exhibited:  

Francis Picabia. Pablo Ruiz Picasso, Madrid; Caixa de Pensions, Barcelona, 1985  

Picabia 1879 – 1953. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh; Galerie Neuendorf, Frankfurt, 1988  

Notes:  

With the exception of an exhibition on Algiers at about the time they were created, Picabia’s female nudes of 1941-­‐42 were continually refused exhibition. Some critics attribute these paintings to Picabia’s superficiality, or to his dire financial need during the war; however, others see them as forerunners and prototypes of the pop art movement. The representation, pose and gesture of the figures in these works clearly resemble those of women depicted in photo magazines of the forties. 

Literature:  

Francis Picabia. Madrid: Pablo Ruiz Picasso 1985, ill. p. 201, cat. no. 152.  

Picabia 1879 – 1953. Edinburgh: Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 1988, ill. p. 101., cat. no. 49. Prince, Richard. Inside World. New York: Kent Fine Art, 1989, ill. p. 21.