Picasso and Paper

Showcasing nearly 300 works spanning the artist’s career, the exhibition highlights Picasso’s relentless exploration of paper. His appreciation of and experimentation with the material is revealed in the works ranging from collages of cut-and-pasted papers to sculptures from pieces of torn and burnt paper, manipulated photographs, drawings in virtually all available media, and prints in an array of techniques. 

Highlights include Femmes à leur toilette (1937–38), a monumental collage measuring nearly 10 by 15 feet, on view for the first time in the United States. This striking work, created with cut-out wallpapers and gouache on paper pasted onto canvas, is part of the collection at the Musée national Picasso-Paris, having been donated by the artist’s estate in 1979. Picasso’s Cubist and Surrealist periods are richly represented through works like his iconic constructed paper guitars and papiers collés. His fascination with paper as an art form is further exemplified through personal sketchbooks and studies that laid the groundwork for celebrated masterpieces like Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.

The exhibition arranges works on paper chronologically and pairs them with select paintings and sculptures to illustrate how paper underpinned Picasso’s creative vision. Visitors will find connections between his early Blue Period work, such as La Vie (1903), and its preparatory sketches, while his bronze Head of a Woman (Fernande) (1909) stands amidst a suite of drawings, underlining paper’s critical role in his Cubist works. By presenting these media side by side, the exhibition offers insight into Picasso’s innovative process and how he used paper to experiment, refine, and expand his artistic practice.

Accompanying Picasso and Paper is a richly illustrated catalogue with contributions from Picasso scholars, including Emilia Philippot of the Musée national Picasso-Paris and Claustre Rafart Planas. Essays by experts such as Violette Andres, photography curator at the Musée national Picasso-Paris and Johan Popelard, Head of the Conservation and Collections Department at the Musée national Picasso-Paris while conservator Emmanuelle Hincelin provide insights into the material science of Picasso’s preferred papers.

This exhibition is organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in partnership with the Musée national Picasso-Paris.

The exhibition is presented by CIBC.