In Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, how is the Background discussed?
Nude, Green Leaves and Bust is one of a series of portraits that Picasso painted of his mistress and muse Marie-Thérèse Walter from 1932. The vibrant blue and lilac canvas is more than 5 feet (1.5 m) tall.
At the time, Picasso was in an exclusive contractual relationship with noted impressionist and post-impressionist French-Jewish art dealer Paul Rosenberg, who bought the painting direct from his friend. With the increasing tones of an approaching war, in the late 1930s Rosenberg started to distribute works from his 2,000+ piece collection around the world, and used the 1939 New York World's Fair as the excuse to ship the painting outside France. After the 1940 Nazi invasion of France, on reaching New York via Lisbon in September 1940, Rosenberg opened a new branch of his noted gallery on East 57th street and put the painting back on display.
From there it was bought by the Brodys in 1951, and was publicly exhibited only once in 1961, to commemorate Picasso's 80th birthday.
France 1939 New York World's Fair Marie-Thérèse Walter art dealer Paul Rosenberg Lisbon Nazi invasion of France