Françoise Gilot | Lithographs: 1950–1990

Exhibition Dates: September 16–November 11, 2023
Opening Reception: Friday, September 15, 6:30–8:30 PM

The Athenaeum is pleased to present a special exhibition of works by late French artist Françoise Gilot, featuring many never-before-exhibited lithographs.

Born in 1921 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, Françoise Gilot's career spanned eight decades, with works ranging from visual art to poetry and prose, including best-selling memoirs. Gilot met legendary artist Pablo Picasso when she was 21, the same year she had her first Paris exhibition. She counted among her friends leading artists of the period, including Matisse, Braque, and Cocteau. Gilot and Picasso raised their two children together until separating in 1953. Gilot married artist Luc Simon in 1955, with whom she had a daughter before divorcing in 1962.

Gilot began visiting the United States in the 1960s to exhibit her work and maintained studios in La Jolla, New York, and Paris. With a degree in philosophy from the University of Paris and another in English literature from Cambridge University, she became an accomplished writer and poet, authoring and illustrating several books. Over time, her art practice expanded to include printmaking techniques such as monographs and aquatints. Gilot's children appear as the subjects of many of her works, along with themes of birds, emblems, and Greek mythology. Gilot's childhood in France and travels to Greece and Asia are also frequent subjects.

Later in life, Gilot married Jonas Salk, developer of the polio vaccine, and lived for a long time in San Diego. The Athenaeum hosted a private reception and pop-up show in 2022 in celebration of Gilot's one hundredth birthday. Gilot continued to paint until her death in June 2023.

The exhibition can be viewed in the Joseph Clayes III Gallery at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library (1008 Wall Street, La Jolla, CA 92037) during open hours, Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Appointments are not required.

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