In the fall of 2018, art historian John Richardson fell seriously ill and died the following March at the age of 95. He left behind outstanding works and biographies about the fate of artists, writes ABC News. During his lifetime, the fourth and last book about Pablo Picasso did not come out.
Shelley Vanger, his editor at Alfred A. Knopf, explained in a recent interview that she and Richardson were working “on the typewritten manuscript” of the book.
By the time he was hospitalized, they had what she calls “essentially a finished manuscript,” minus the closing notes, illustrations, and some additional research.
Richardson’s Life of Picasso: Years of the Minotaur, due out on November 16, completes a project he began over 30 years ago with Wunderkind and continued with Cubist Rebel and Years of Triumph.
“I think this is the most important of Picasso’s biographies,” says Picasso’s grandson, Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, co-chairman of the FABA art foundation, which includes some of his grandfather’s work.
“He had a much broader picture (than other biographers) of what everyone was doing. These weren’t just facts, because facts can seem boring. What you have is accuracy and understanding, “the descendant pointed out.
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