Original Pablo Picasso Poster Tate Gallery, 1960 - Mourlot

This is an original lithographic poster created by Pablo Picasso and printed by Mourlot Frères for the landmark 1960 exhibition at the Tate Gallery in London — an Arts Council exhibition that ran from 6 July to 18 September 1960 and has since been recognised as one of the defining moments in British cultural history. The Tatler famously coined the term "blockbuster exhibition" in its review of this show: it was the first time a single artist had drawn such vast, queuing crowds to a British museum. Picasso, at 78, was at the absolute summit of his international fame.

Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) designed this poster himself, featuring Nude with Towel (1907) — a work from the same revolutionary period as Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, painted at the very moment Picasso was dismantling the entire Western pictorial tradition. The image on this poster is therefore not merely a promotional device: it is a self-portrait of an artist at the threshold of Cubism, chosen by Picasso himself to represent his life's work to the British public.

Mourlot Frères was the natural choice for an exhibition of this magnitude. The atelier had printed Picasso's posters since the late 1940s, with Picasso working directly on the lithographic stone at the rue de Chabrol workshop. The partnership produced some of the most important printed works of the 20th century — and this poster, catalogued under Czwiklitzer n°176, is among the most historically significant of them all.

The poster is in overall good condition with only some minor hanging marks on the sides — honest signs of a life well displayed, in no way affecting the image. See pictures for full condition details.

A historic piece — the poster that defined the blockbuster exhibition, printed by the only atelier Picasso trusted.