Picasso and Chicago: 100 Years, 100 Works (Art Institute of Chicago) - Hardcover

The Art Institute of Chicago was the first American museum to exhibit works by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) when it hosted the Armory Show in February 1913. Published to commemorate this landmark event in the history of avant-garde European Art, Picasso and Chicago will also accompany the Art Institute's first large-scale Picasso exhibition in almost 30 years. This handsome catalogue presents one hundred of Picasso's finest works, including "Mother and Child" (1921), "Head of a Woman (Fernande)" (1909), "Woman Washing Her Feet" (1944), and "The Frugal Meal" (1904). The artworks survey Picasso's extensive material experimentations, and subjects that are emblematic of the artist, including the emotive individuals of his Blue and Rose periods, the faceted faces and still-life objects of his Cubist years, and the monumental personages from his post-World War II production. An illustrated chronology documents notable exhibitions and acquisitions and outlines Picasso's varied contributions to a city that has enthusiastically collected his art for the past century.

Stephanie D'Alessandro is the Gary C. and Frances Comer Curator of Modern Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. Adam Gopnik is a staff writer for the New Yorker.