Françoise Gilot (French, b. 1921) ______

French painter Françoise Gilot occupies a unique niche in the modern art landscape as a female giant of the art world. At 96, she remains one of the most exciting and collectible artists of our century, as well as the preceding one.

Born in 1921, Gilot’s career was shaped by the artistic milieu of World War II German-occupied . Having declared at age six her intention to be an artist, Gilot was well on her way before entering college. After years of diligent lessons in watercolor and india ink, followed by an apprenticeship in etching and printmaking, Gilot displayed an early facility for draftsmanship. A gifted academic student, she obtained her baccalaureate degree at age 16 and earned advanced degrees in English Literature and law. But her destiny was clear: she was and would be an artist, a rebellion that violently angered her father and resulted in a rift between them that never completely healed.

In the fraught wartime environment, her drive and ambition flourished, and she became one of the rising stars of her generation, loosely aligned with the burgeoning School of Paris movement. Much of her early work was destroyed in an evacuation attempt, but what survives displays skill and confidence beyond her years.

She met Pablo in a café on the eve of her first formal exhibition. Despite their 40-year age difference, Gilot answered his charismatic celebrity with her own strong sense of self. After viewing her work, he took her seriously as a challenge both artistic and personal; their productive decade-long creative and romantic partnership launched her career and elevated his. They had two children together, Paloma and Claude, and shared famous friends such as Matisse, Braque and the poet Paul Elouard before Gilot ended the relationship, unwilling to sacrifice her career or her identity to remain in his shadow.

Leaving Paris behind her, she became a pioneer, establishing a studio in London and traveling through the middle east and later to America where she attracted the attention of another pioneer, medical giant Dr. ; they remained married twenty-five years until his death in 1995.

Now, after seven decades of creative achievement, Gilot is widely recognized as an innovative colorist and superlative draftsman; her work has been shown in museum exhibitions worldwide and she has published several successful books. Her well-documented oeuvre comprises more than 6,000 paintings as well as drawings and printmaking works, and she has designed theater sets for the stage and ballet productions. In 2012 she was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the nation of France.

Gilot has been featured in numerous publications throughout her long career, such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Vogue and Vanity Fair. She has been interviewed twice by Charlie Rose and was recently featured on CBS Sunday Morning.

FRANÇOISE GILOT – SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gilot, Françoise, and Lake, Carlton. Life with Picasso New York/ Toronto/ London: McGraw-Hill, 1964. ISBN: 64-23276

Gilot, Françoise. Paloma Sphynx New York: Françoise Gilot, 1975 ISBN: B-0007B-565-Q

Gilot, Françoise. Interface: The Painter and the Mask California: The Press, 1975 ISBN: 83-061745

Gilot, Françoise. The Fugitive Eye Paris: Aeolian Press, 1976 ISBN: B0012TJRY8

Giraudy, Danièle and Haskell, Barbara. Gilot, Françoise: An Artist’s Journey New York: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1987. ISBN: 0-87113-158-7 (hc) 0-87113-215-X (pbk)

Ahrweiler, Helene and Solodkin, Judith. Françoise Gilot: Monotypes Paris: Bergguen, 1989 ISBN: 2-904772-22-7

Gilot, Françoise. Matisse and Picasso: A Friendship in Art New York: Doubleday, 1990 ISBN: 0-385-26044-X

Huffington, Arianna. The Gods of Greece: Paintings by Françoise Gilot New York: Kenan Book Inc., 1993 ISBN: 0-87113-554-X

Yoakum, Mel, Ph.D. Stone Echoes: Original Prints by Françoise Gilot Collegeville, Pennsylvania: Phillip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College, 1995 ISBN: 0-9624021-7-6

Yoakum, Mel and Vierny, Dina. Françoise Gilot: Monograph 1940-2000 Lausanne, CH: Acatos, 2000 ISBN: 2-940033-36-6

Engel, Aurelia with Gilot, Françoise. Françoise Gilot: Oeuvres (Works) 1984-2010 ArtAcatos Sàrl, 2011 ISBN: 9-782940 452071

Richardson, John with Gilot, Françoise. Picasso and Françoise Gilot: Paris – Vallauris, 1943-1953 Gagosian Gallery, New York

Gilot, Francoise & Alther, Lisa. About Women: Conversations Between a Writer and a Painter

Nan Talese Books, an imprint of Doubleday, 2015 ISBN-10: 038553986X ISBN-13: 978-0385539869

Herwig, Malte. The Woman Who Says No

Greystone Books, Ltd., 2015 ISBN: 978-1-77164-227-9

FILMS:

Charlie Rose: An Hour with French painter Françoise Gilot (Interview, February 13, 1998)

Available at www.charlierose.com

“Surviving Picasso” (1996) film by Merchant & Ivory based on Gilot’s book “Life with Picasso.” Starring Sir as , and Natasha McElhone as Françoise Gilot.

“Matisse/Picasso” (2002) A film by Philippe Kohly. Narration includes interviews with Françoise Gilot & .

Charlie Rose: Françoise Gilot and John Richardson (Interviewed on May 17, 2012) Duration 60 min

Available at www.charlierose.com

RECENT PRESS New York Times “Stealing the Show” By Carol Vogel (Sunday October 23, 2011) http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/arts/artsspecial/art-gallery- shows-stir-excitement-of-their-own.html?_r=0

Vogue Magazine “Life After Picasso” By Dodie Kazanjian (p.554) (April 27, 2012) http://www.vogue.com/865350/life-after-picasso-franoise-gilot/

Wall Street Journal “Matisse and Me” Edited from an interview with Robert Murphy (Sat./Sun. November 8 – 9, 2014) http://www.wsj.com/articles/francoise-gilot-reminisces-about- henri-matisse-1414420847

New York Times – Arts Section “Teaming Up to Pair Art and Ballet in American Ballet Theater’s ‘AfterEffect’” By Rosalyn Sulcaso (October 27, 2015) http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/28/arts/dance/teaming-up-to- pair-art-and-ballet-in-american-ballet-theaters-aftereffect.html

New York Times Book Review “About Women” By Phyllis Rose (December 4, 2015) http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/books/review/about-women- by-lisa-alther-and-francoise-gilot.html

Town & Country Magazine “Muse & Master” By Lesley M. M. Blume (December/January 2016) http://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and- culture/news/a4268/francoise-gilot/

Wall Street Journal – Home & Digital “All the Reasons an Artist Treasures an Old Necklace” By Kristiano Ang (February 3, 2016) http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-francoise-gilot-treasures-a- bronze-necklace-1454432545

CBS Sunday Morning– CBS Television 2016 (air date t.b.d.)

Vanity Fair Magazine “The Battle for Picasso’s Multi-Billion Dollar Empire” (March 17, 2016) http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2016/03/picasso-multi-billion- dollar-empire-battle

The Guardian “It was not a Sentimental Love” Françoise Gilot on her Years with Picasso (June 10, 2016) https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jun/10/francoise- gilot-artist-love-picasso

CBS Sunday Morning “Brush with Greatness” (August 20, 2017) Interviewed by Anthony Mason https://www.cbsnews.com/videos/artist-francoise-gilot/