You Didn't Hear This From Me: (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of physical abuse.

The 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso’s death occurred in 2023, and many art museums marked the occasion with Picasso exhibits and retrospectives. Picasso’s impact on the art world is indelible: his prolific and original work influenced 10 different art movements, though the most important of his influences is Synthetic Cubism, or the quintessential Picasso style. He was also a “misogynist and a womanizer” (193) who physically abused his female partners. This aspect of Picasso’s life was explicitly addressed by the exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. The exhibit was curated by Hannah Gadsby, an Australian comedian who performed the viral standup set Nanette in 2018. 

In Gadsby’s work, they told a couple of jokes about Picasso’s treatment of women, which prompted the museum to offer them the role of curator. The exhibit emphasized Picasso’s legacy as an abuser, which, McKinney argues, was not exactly a revelation. Several books had been published on this topic, some before Picasso died. One of the most influential was Francoise Gilot’s Life with Picasso, a memoir by Picasso’s romantic partner. At the time they met, she was 21 and he was 61.