In 1951, the Irish photographer Edward Quinn was living in Monaco with his future wife, Margaret, taking advantage of the splendid subjects on offer on the Côte d’Azur. For Life and Paris Match, he snapped impromptu shots of Grace Kelly, Aristotle Onassis, and Brigitte Bardot. The first time Quinn met Pablo Picasso, however, he left nothing to chance.
In July of that year, on a mission, Quinn traveled to a ceramics exhibition in Vallauris, France. “I was not the only one who wanted to see Picasso that day,” he said later, recalling how he pushed his way through a sea of cameras. Picasso posed with Prince Ali Khan, anticipating that a short photo op would be enough to appease the photographers. He was almost right. The crowd dispersed, but Quinn stayed. “It paid off,” he said, which was an understatement.
For then a nanny appeared with Picasso’s two young children dressed in matching onesies—Claude and Paloma. Picasso bent down to embrace his daughter, and Quinn, with the painter’s permission, captured the intimate moment between father and child. It was a rarely seen side of the famed artist.
“He doesn’t bother me” was Picasso’s response when asked what he thought of Quinn after their initial encounter. What began as indifference grew into fondness—the duo went on to be close friends for 19 years. During that time Quinn took more than 9,000 photos. He captured Picasso with friends, with family, at the barber, watching a bullfight (a great passion of his), and doing everyday things. These charming images fill the pages of the new book Picasso, Friends and Family, adding another dimension to our understanding of this complex artist. —Clara Molot
Picasso, Friends and Family, with photographs by Edward Quinn, will be available beginning September 19 from Hatje Cantz
Clara Molot is an Associate Editor at AIR MAIL