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The Arts Intel Report

Maya Ruiz-Picasso, Daughter of Pablo

Apr 16 – Dec 31, 2022
5 Rue de Thorigny, 75003 Paris, France

Pablo Picasso’s first daughter was named María de la Concepción, but she was raised as “Maya.” Born in 1935, she was the fruit of the artist’s passionate love for Maria-Thérèse Walter, a French model. At the time, Walter was 17 while Picasso was already 45. The affair was extramarital, and Maya’s birth forced the separation between Picasso and his first wife, Olga Khokhlova. The new baby became one of Picasso’s favorite subjects: he painted 14 loving portraits of Maya between January 1938 and October 1939. In this exhibition, a significant ensemble of these portraits is on view, alongside other important works from the 1930s, plus family photos and letters. —Elena Clavarino