Pablo Picasso’s daughter has said her father is “impossible to cancel” despite a long history of “womanizing” and accusations of theft of African culture.
In a new interview with The Telegraph, Paloma Picassso, 75, the influential artist’s only surviving daughter, insisted that her father cannot be cancelled, despite some criticism now leveled at him.
Paloma, a jewelry designer and businesswoman, spoke fondly of her late father, despite their strained relationship that left them estranged at the time of his death in 1973.
Since Picasso’s death, there has been growing criticism of the artist, who was famous for his fondness for women and was thought to have a particular interest in younger women.
Although critics have questioned whether Picasso was “toxic” after his treatment of women was labeled misogyny, Paloma vehemently defended him.
Pablo Picasso’s daughter has said her father is “impossible to cancel” despite a long history of “womanizing” and accusations of theft of African culture.
Remembering her relationship with the French model Marie-Thérèse Walter, who was only 17 years old when she began an affair with the married artist, 45 years old, Paloma stated that “17 is not such a minor.”
When discussing whether or not she thought the cultural landscape would be “bleak” if the private lives of artists were questioned too much, Paloma responded: “Yes! Marie-Thérèse (Walter) was 17, it’s true, but she was an exception. ‘
‘It’s not that he was only with underage women. And 17 years old is not so minor.’
The model was only 17 years old when she met Picasso in 1927 and became his lover for eight years. Marie-Thérèse was also the mother of the artist’s second eldest daughter, the late Maya Widmaier-Picasso.
Paloma also said that blaming men was “a little harsh” and that her father was a man of his generation, since Picasso was born in 1881.
Paloma also recognized that her father loved women and made sure they were the center of his attention throughout his life.
Born in 1949, Paloma is the daughter of Picasso and the French artist Françoise Gilot, who is described as “the only woman who abandoned” the Spaniard.
She is the last surviving daughter of the influential painter, who had a total of four children, Paulo Picasso, Maya Widmaier-Picasso and Claude Picasso, with three different women.
When discussing whether or not she thought the cultural landscape would be “bleak” if the private lives of artists were questioned too much, Paloma responded: “Yes! Marie-Thérèse (Walter) was 17, it’s true, but she was an exception.”
Picasso photographed with his wife Françoise in 1951. The jewelry designer also said that blaming men was “a little harsh” and that his father was a man of his generation: Picasso was born in 1881.
Paloma Picasso photographed next to her father’s work in 2023
But since her father died, Paloma has been defending his legacy against critics who claim the influential artist is “sexist.”
Paloma’s mother, Françoise, left Picasso in 1953, taking with her two children, Paloma, four, and Claude, six.
Despite the schism in the family, Paloma said she maintained a positive relationship with her father, who would come to visit them in Paris.
The artist separated Paloma and her full brother, Claude, after their mother wrote a book titled Life with Picasso, before her death in 1964.
Paloma began designing jewelry when she was just a teenager and previously appeared in Vogue.
In addition to her family connections with Picasso, Paloma has been involved with artists all her life, being the muse of Andy Warhol and Yves Saint Laurent when she was 20 years old.
The 75-year-old now divides her time between Lausanne, Paris, Marrakech and New York.
But since her father died, Paloma has been defending his legacy against critics who claim the influential artist is “sexist.”
On the 50th anniversary of his death last year, The Guardian asked: “Is it time to let go of the master?”
One of Pablo’s most famous works, The Young Ladies of Avignon, is an iconoclastic Cubist study of five naked prostitutes from a Barcelona brothel.
It is now believed that while working on the painting, the artist and his lifelong lover, Fernande Olivier, briefly adopted a 13-year-old girl named Raymonde from a Paris orphanage; Picasso ended up drawing with his legs open.
“There is no indication that Picasso ever abused Raymonde (who was later returned to the orphanage),” wrote the artist’s biographer, Miles Unger, “but it is clear that she awakened in him feelings that could have led to disaster.” His attraction to teenage girls, at least later in his life, is well documented.
