It is rare to give gifts on your birthday, but Pablo Picasso did just that for his 80th.
“Flowers for UCLA” is an original drawing that Picasso gave the university for hosting a celebration in his honor.
In 1961, an exhibition to celebrate the artist’s birthday was held in Dickson Art Center, now Perloff Hall. It featured more than 250 works from all of the artist’s significant artistic periods: blue, rose, African, cubist and post-cubist, in the form of oil paintings, water colors, drawings, lithographs and prints.
To commemorate the exhibition and to support the university, Picasso signed 100 lithographs, a special type of art print, of the drawing that displayed flowers and dedicated all of them “For UCLA.” He also authorized the creation of 2,500 similar posters.
The drawing, “Flowers for UCLA,” shows Picasso’s unique take on art and his divergence from what was traditionally appreciated.
The proceeds from the sale of these lithographs and posters all benefited a new UCLA art scholarship for graduate students to study abroad, a cause Picasso found very noble.
“Picasso was a good-hearted man,” said John Richardson, a friend and biographer of the artist and art historian in New York City.
Richardson added that Picasso, who died in 1973, must have done the dedication drawing at the request of a significant patron rather than seeking the school out himself, even though he placed a great value in education.
Indeed it was Frank Perls, an art collector, who developed the idea of the exhibition and asked Picasso to dedicate the piece for UCLA while Perls visited the artist in France.
Even though this was the first gift ever given by the artist to an American institution, neither the art nor the art history departments at UCLA have any professors who were around at the time, leaving much of the history of the piece a mystery.
Many of the people directly involved with the exhibition have since died, and University Archives does not have any catalogued record of it.
Even George Baker, associate professor of modern art, who recently gave a presentation on Picasso in Berkeley, has not heard of the piece.
Charlotte Brown, University Archivist, said even some major events fall through the cracks because of just how much UCLA history exists.
While the Picasso story seems interesting, “There’s so much to keep track of,” she said.
The Daily Bruin and Los Angeles Times archives provide some of the only records of what occurred, describing the logistics and major pieces in the exhibition.
Admission to the exhibition was free for students and only 50 cents for the public, according to Daily Bruin archives. The signed lithographs sold for $160 to $200 while posters went for only $15, and they were all sold out by the first day of the exhibition.
All of the pieces on display in the exhibition were loaned to UCLA from Southern California museums and private collectors to celebrate the art master’s legacy.
Lovely, very informative. Thanks Asad. I am writing a book on Picasso as a lithographer and will include your information (quoting you, of course). One small error in the inbformation they gave you. The print run of the lithograph without signature was 500, not 2,500. The person that gave you the information was probably thinking of another poster Picasso did for Frank Perls, this time for the L.A. County Museum of art in 1966. Here there were 100 signed lithographs and 2,500 unsigned posters.
Miguel Orozco
Brussels
I recently purchased “Flowers for UCLA”. It appears to be a lithograph, but it does not contain the “Flowers for UCLA” inscription. Might it be part of the 500 run?
Hello – I also have this – not sure if it’s a litho or poster – it is in a frame. What is the best way to tell ? Thank you for your input !
I never knew the background on this. I have the original poster for the event.