Saskatchewan Art News

405 Picasso Prints Donated to Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan

The Frank and Ellen Remai Foundation has donated 405 Pablo Picasso linocut prints, valued at $20 million, to the Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan (formerly the Mendel Art Gallery), in Saskatoon. The donation, announced on September 25th, doubles the value of the Gallery’s permanent collection, and creates what is likely the largest collection of Picasso prints in the world.

The prints will be displayed freely to the public in a dedicated third floor space - The Picasso Salon - in the new Art Gallery when it opens in 2015.

“I want to put the Gallery on the international stage,” said Ellen Remai, an entrepreneur and noted philanthropist. “It is my hope that these works, by one of the greatest artists of the 20th Century, will create many opportunities for the Gallery and will inspire visitors and local artists for decades to come.”

The gift of the Picasso prints follows the Remai Foundation’s 2011 donation of $30 million to the Gallery towards the construction of the new facility and enhanced programming over the next 30 years.

The Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) created the prints between 1951 and 1966. The collection was assembled over many years by Dr. Frederick Mulder, a London-based, Saskatchewan-born art dealer, and comprises 405 Picasso linocuts: 193 out of 197 linocut subjects he created, plus 212 working proofs.

Mulder, who grew up in Eston, Saskatchewan, earlier this year donated six Picasso prints to his alma mater, the University of Saskatchewan, and is said to be delighted that his much larger Picasso print collection will now also have a home in the province.

Portrait de Jeune Fille, d'apres Cranach le Jeune II, 1958 linocut by Pablo Picasso, copyright Picasso Estate - SODRAC

Top Image - Portrait de Femme au Chapeau a Pompons et au Corsage Imprime, 1962 linocut by Pablo Picasso, copyright Picasso Estate - SODRAC