I had the distinct pleasure of Meeting Francoise Gilot during an exhibition of her art work at the Elkon Gallery in New York City, in 2006.
I was introduced to Francoise by Mel Yoakum Ph. D., a long time client and friend of mine who was the curator of the F. Gilot Archives for over two decades. Having published several books on Ms. Gilot, Mel is the foremost authority on her work. He gave me a tremendous education about her over the years, as well as some of these priceless treasures shown above. There’s her plein air easel for outdoor painting from her days in La Jolla, when married to Jonas Salk. A rare numbered book published by her daughter Paloma Picasso in 1975, featuring drawings by Francoise. A 1946 remnant drawing that now sits on my nightstand. And most importantly, the golden opportunity of meeting Ms. Gilot during her art show on Manhattan’s upper east side.
I travelled from LA to New York the day of the exhibition, stopping to pick up my buddies David and Courtney en route to the Gallery. It was chic beyond belief. Ms. Kitty Carlisle was dressed from head to toe in red, in a room full of people wearing only black. Ms. Gilot and myself were the only other two people in the room wearing color (my shirt is pale pink). I’ll never forget the moment I first laid eyes on her. She seemed so tiny for a woman with such bold and powerful work hanging on the walls. Mel introduced me to her as a Los Angeles collector who’d flown in for her show, as well as the owner of Citrus and Alizarine, 2003, a painting he’d recently sold me. She was demure, smiled, and firmly shook my hand. After mingling with the other art patrons for about 30 minutes, my friends and I retreated to the lounge just off the main gallery. As we were discussing the show, a very spirited blonde socialite bounced into the room and began talking with one of the men in the room. They knew each from boarding school, possibly in Florida. She stood in the doorway, tilted her head and said Well… it’s a Small World… at the Top! She then spun on her heels and made a grand exit. We were all dying of laughter, her timing was impeccable.
A few minutes later Francoise entered the room and plopped down on the Sofa next to me. For a woman in her mid 80’s she was holding up remarkably well. We sat around and chatted for a bit, and then she happily posed for a photo with me. This photo was the basis for my painting below. I was inspired to paint her with a green halo which barely shows in this photo. I later found out that Matisse and Picasso had also been inspired to use green as a major component in their portraits of her. Trust me, I’m not comparing myself to those two masters, I just find it curious that I dialed into that energy with no prior knowledge of their interpretation of her.
I love Francoise’s mid-century work, especially her use of the square for texture. I used that square as a pattern to represent the tremendous amount of paintings she’s created in her lifetime, over 1600 at last count. I continue to observe and study her work, which gives me inspiration in new and powerful ways. I feel about her the same way she felt about Matisse, which you can watch in the video below.
