Françoise Gilot, a renowned painter and the author of a memoir documenting her tumultuous relationship with Pablo Picasso, has passed away at the age of 101. The New York Times reported her death in New York on Tuesday. Gilot, once dismissed as one of Picasso’s muses, has in recent years been recognized as an accomplished artist in her own right. She actively collaborated with Picasso and even had a contract with Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, the dealer who represented Picasso at various points.
Throughout her long life, Gilot remained true to herself and continuously reinvented herself, as Markus Müller writes in his book “Picasso: Women of His Life. a Tribute” (2022). It was not until her hundredth year that one of her works, a tender portrait of her daughter Paloma titled “Paloma à la Guitare” from 1965, broke the million-euro mark at an auction, symbolically validating her life’s work. The painting, characterized by its cool colors, intersecting abstract geometric planes, and a seated Paloma wearing a feathered hat, exemplifies Gilot’s style—a fusion of Picasso’s modernist influence and her own unique interpretation.
In 2021, “Paloma à la Guitare” sold for $1.3 million at a Sotheby’s London auction dedicated to women artists, setting a record for Gilot. Unlike Picasso’s other relationships with Dora Maar, Marie-Thérèse Walter, and Olga Khokhlova, which often ended acrimoniously at his behest, Gilot left Picasso on her own terms. She described Picasso as having a “Bluebeard complex” and treated women as both goddesses and doormats, manipulating them against each other to maintain control. However, Gilot’s experience with Picasso was different. In her memoir, “Life with Picasso,” co-written with Carlton Lake, she recounts pushing back against Picasso’s demands for a passive partnership while occasionally succumbing to his manipulations. She ultimately left him in 1953 and outlived him by five decades.
Françoise Gilot was proud of her remark about being Picasso’s seventh wife, even though they were never officially married. Picasso remained legally married to Khokhlova until her death in 1955, despite having been separated for about 20 years. Gilot was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, in 1921, to a middle-class family. While her father initially disapproved of her pursuing art and wanted her to study law, her grandmother encouraged her artistic pursuits.
Françoise Gilot first met Picasso, who was 40 years her senior, in 1943 when he was still involved with Dora Maar. Despite knowing that their liaison would be a “catastrophe,” as she later stated, Gilot pursued the relationship. When Picasso insisted she live with him to progress their connection, she hesitated but eventually agreed, causing a rift with her family. Her father only began to reconcile with her after she and Picasso severed ties. “Life with Picasso” depicts their relationship as complex, not devoid of love but far from idyllic. Gilot recalls an incident where Picasso threatened to throw her off a bridge during an argument, but she defied him by inviting him to fulfill his promise. He did not follow through, though. Gilot also acknowledges Picasso’s passion for art and his occasional display of care as a father to their children, Claude and Paloma.
After leaving Picasso in 1953, Françoise Gilot married painter Luc Simon in 1955, but their marriage ended in divorce six years later. In 1961, she began writing “Life with Picasso” with journalist Carlton Lake, dedicating two days a week to share her experiences and edit the manuscript. Upon its publication, the memoir became a bestseller, generating both praise and controversy. While The New York Times lauded the book’s significance and Gilot’s fair assessment of Picasso’s genius, French critics were more divided, with some accusing Gilot of betrayal. Notably, Douglas Cooper, a prominent Picasso collector, reportedly burned copies of the book during a party. However, the memoir has since been recognized as a proto-feminist classic, depicting the story of a young woman who found herself captivated by a brilliant master and ultimately broke free.
In 1970, Françoise Gilotmet virologist Jonas Salk during a visit to La Jolla, California, and they began a relationship. They later married and remained together until Salk’s death in 1995. Gilot described her love for Salk as admiration for his commitment to humanity, but she acknowledged that her passion for him was different from what she felt for Picasso.
Throughout the rest of her career, Gilot continued to create art, publish poetry, and gained recognition in New York, where she established a studio in the late 1970s. Picasso’s influence remained present in discussions about Gilot’s work. In 2012, a show organized by John Richardson, Picasso’s biographer, showcased Gilot’s paintings alongside Picasso’s, reigniting interest in their relationship. Gilot’s dedication to asserting her perspective and her right to share it through art, books, lectures, and exhibitions has been regarded as a feminist endeavor. In 2019, “Life with Picasso” was reprinted, hailed as a significant contribution to the feminist canon—a story of a young woman who found herself entangled with a captivating genius and ultimately found liberation. In an interview with the New York Times in 2022, Gilot, who had recently turned 100, reflected on life as a labyrinth, emphasizing the importance of accepting its course and navigating it accordingly.