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Special double issue of Verve dedicated to Pablo Picasso,
a fine copy illustrated with 16 lithographs and 164 heliogravures

Pablo Picasso: Verve

"Last winter, from mid-December to the end of January 1954 Picasso was working indefatigably on this series of drawings, which rank among the finest, boldest, most poignantly human of all he has produced in the course of his long and brilliant career... Almost one could fancy that in his lonely nights at Vallauris these denizens of a world invented by himself crowded into the artist's room, sat for him, confessed unblushingly their most shameful secrets... We have published the series of drawings in its entirety. They form an organic whole, born of a surging uprush of the creative spirit, and to have omitted any of its elements would have been a mutilation. Nevertheless, when we isolate anyone of these elements and fix our attention on a single page, we find the fragment almost as eye-filling as the ensemble. All the drawings are reproduced in the exact size of the originals and in the chronological order of their making." (Teriade). 
PICASSO, Pablo. Verve. Vol VIII, No. 29/30. Vallauris-Mil Neuf Cent Cinquante Quatre. Suite de 180 Dessins de Picasso. 28 Novembre 1953 au 3 Fevrier 1954. Verve, Paris-France, 1954. Printed in France, distributed in Great Britain and the Dominions by A. Zwemmer Ltd. Folio, original lithographed paper covered boards; glassine. Text in English. $2200. 

First edition, English-language issue, of the special double issue of Verve dedicated to the drawings of Pablo Picasso, focusing on the works composed during his stay at Vallauris in 1954. With Michel Leiris's essay, "Picasso and the Human
Comedy or The Avatars of Fat-Foot," and an appreciation by Rebecca West. "This double number of Verve is devoted to Picasso. Its cover was executed specially by the artist. Its printing was completed the 15th of September 1954 by the master printers Draeger Freres for the heliogravure in black and white, and Mourlot Freres for the lithography in color" (Publisher's note). Split to text block after first gathering.  A fine copy with colors extraordinarily bright. Rare in this condition. 

Pablo Picasso: lithographs

 

Science/Technology/Medicine

Literature/Modern Firsts

Americana/History/Travel

Art/Illustrated/Children's