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Picasso's War summary

Name: Picasso's War
Rating: 4.7 (186 reviews)
Author: Hugh Eakin

Hugh Eakin

How Modern Art Came to America

4.7 (186 ratings)

20 mins

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Picasso's War
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What’s in it for me? Learn how Picasso eventually conquered a conservative America.

America and modern art. They’ve always gone together like chocolate and peanut butter. After all, New York City is the home of Andy Warhol and Pop Art, right? Well, yes and no. The story of modern art in America is actually filled with plenty of dramatic ups and downs.

In the early twentieth century, America was hostile territory for modern art. It was typically met with hysterical reactions from critics, the press, the public, other artists, and even mental health professionals. The works were heralded as being the output of deranged minds – a threat to the very fabric of society. Rembrandt, Velázquez – the Old Masters were what they wanted to see and buy, not geometric depictions of naked brothel workers or gooey renderings of sunflowers.

This was bad news for European artists and the few people in the States that recognized the genius in the work of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and other modern artists. This is the story of how they persisted and eventually won over the hearts and minds of America.

A First Glimpse

In early 1911, John Quinn stood in the small New York City art space known as 291. He was staring at a charcoal sketch known as Standing Female Nude. It was part of an exhibition of works by Pablo Picasso. The gallery was little more than a 15-square-foot loft heated by an exposed wood-burning stove. But it would go down in history as hosting the very first Picasso exhibition held in the United States.

The pieces on display were only drawings, but they still came as a shock. Picasso was in his cubist phase – among the pioneers of the form – and many people couldn’t make heads or tails of the sharp angles and disorienting changes in perspective. Even Quinn was flummoxed by this first encounter.

Quinn was 41 years old. He was a successful and respected lawyer by day, but he also prided himself on being at the cutting edge of culture. An Irish-American, Quinn was a well-established cultural conduit between the US, Ireland, and England. He counted the writers W. B. Yeats, James Joyce, and T. S. Eliot among his friends. He often supported these artists by promoting their work, connecting them with American publishers.

But one thing that Quinn didn’t have access to was modern art. Sadly, most Americans were still obsessed with classical work. Even late nineteenth-century post-Impressionists like Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and Paul Cézanne were largely unseen by American eyes in 1911.

So, here Quinn was, finally setting eyes on his first Picasso. And, like we said, he was flummoxed. One critic described Standing Female Nude as looking like “a fire escape, and not a good fire escape at that.” Quinn, on the other hand, wasn’t so opposed. He wasn’t fully on board yet, either, but he recognized that Picasso was doing something remarkable. Cubism wasn’t just new, it was a daring leap forward. It was also obvious to Quinn that Picasso didn’t care about public opinion. And for that reason alone, he was deeply impressed with what he saw. Now, if only he could see more.

Protests and Taxes

If you’ve ever been a collector of anything, you probably know how it goes. What starts as a fun hobby can soon turn into an all-consuming passion. Collecting modern art quickly became just that for John Quinn, as every penny he made through his law practice got funneled into this new pursuit.

There was a practical reason behind Quinn’s collection. Simply put, someone had to do it. In his opinion, the Metropolitan Museum had hardly anything good from the nineteenth century at all. Quinn felt like he had to take the initiative. Maybe, one day, his collection could serve as the foundation for a real modern museum of art.

Dealing with Picasso

It was July 1907, when Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler knocked on the door of a dilapidated building in the Montmartre district of Paris. When the door finally opened, Kahnweiler was greeted by a short, bedraggled young man standing in his underwear. He welcomed Kahnweiler in, and while the strange man put on some pants, Kahnweiler took in the scene. The place was a mess. Wallpaper was peeling off the walls. Junk was strewn everywhere. What little furniture there was had a layer of cigarette ash covering it. The place reeked of dog and paint. This was Pablo Picasso’s studio.

Kahnweiler was an ambitious and inexperienced art dealer in his early twenties. He was a German-Jewish man who’d recently borrowed some money from his uncle to start his own gallery in Paris. He had no connections, knew very few artists, but he loved modern art and had good taste.

Untimely Ends

Back in New York, John Quinn wasn’t feeling so well. For years, Quinn had known something was wrong, but in 1919, he received a grim diagnosis that he had cancer, and likely had only six years left to live. By this time, Quinn had already amassed what was likely the biggest collection of modern art in America. His Upper-West Side apartment had rows of paintings stacked against the wall in every possible location. The only thing holding him back was space and money. He’d developed strong relationships with European dealers like Rosenberg. He’d even visited Picasso at his home.

The American press, however, continued to refer to modern art as dangerous and degenerate “bolshevik” art, the work of “madmen'' whose visions could only serve to corrupt wholesome American minds. And when Quinn finally passed away in 1924, the Metropolitan Museum still failed to own a single Van Gogh, Gauguin, or Toulouse-Lautrec – never mind a Picasso or a Matisse.

Modern Art Takes a Victory Lap

In the 1930s other cultural and political changes were happening too, which, in the long run, would make modern art look like a bold signifier of democracy and freedom.

When the Nazi party took over in Germany, modern art exhibitions began to get shut down, galleries were closed, and works were being taken off the walls in museums. A similar thing was happening in Stalin’s Russia, but in Germany, the term “degenerate art” was being used exactly the same way the term had been used in America. Only now, the works were being forcibly taken away by Gestapo agents.

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What is Picasso's War about?

Picasso’s War (2022) reveals the fascinating story behind America’s rocky relationship with modern art. It shows how a small group of individuals were able to overcome ridicule and accusations of “degenerate art” in order to turn the country into a haven for the world’s most progressive artists.

Who should read Picasso's War?

History buffs
Fans of Pablo Picasso and modern art

About the Author

Hugh Eakin has been a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books, and is senior editor at Foreign Affairs. He’s written extensively about art and museums for such publications as the New Yorker and Vanity Fair.

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