Picasso's 1970 sketchbook drawings debut in New York exhibition

Mitchell-Innes & Nash presents "Picasso: The Berggruen Album," featuring 26 previously unseen drawings from 1970. Created over eight days in November when Picasso was 89, these works come from a single sketchbook acquired by collector Heinz Berggruen. The exhibition runs from May 3 to June 26, 2004, at 1018 Madison Avenue in New York. Most drawings use pen and ink, with some incorporating ink washes or pencil, all measuring approximately nine by twelve inches horizontally. The show originated at San Francisco's John Berggruen Gallery in March 2004. Drawings depict erotic female nudes with intrusive male faces, including "Man and Woman" from November 9. Picasso dated each work meticulously, and no images appear on the reverse of any sheet. The catalogue replicates the original spiral-bound pad and includes an essay by John Richardson discussing Picasso's references to Matisse. Despite themes of sexual predatoriness and artistic ego, the drawings demonstrate undiminished technical mastery in Picasso's final years.