Picasso is probably the best example on the site of why the words ‘original poster’ need a bit of explanation.
We are not suggesting that an exhibition poster is an original Picasso painting or a signed limited-edition print. What can be original is the poster itself: a piece printed at the time to advertise a real exhibition, gallery, museum or cultural event.
An Extraordinary Range of Period Material
That is a collecting area we find fascinating. Picasso’s career was so long and his public profile so enormous that there is an extraordinary range of genuine period material connected with exhibitions across Europe and beyond. The best pieces capture not just his work but how institutions chose to present Picasso at a particular moment.
Picasso worked extensively in printmaking as well as painting, sculpture, ceramics and drawing, so there are also many different categories of printed material around his name. Keeping those categories straight matters. Lithograph, exhibition poster, offset poster, signed print and later reproduction are not interchangeable descriptions.
Once that is understood, original Picasso exhibition posters can be a very accessible way into collecting twentieth-century art ephemera. We like them most when the poster has its own strong sense of time and place rather than simply reproducing a famous image.
Poster Spotlight
Pablo Picasso - Gagosian Gallery London
A contemporary gallery's exhibition poster, showing how institutions continue to present Picasso's work today.
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Pablo Picasso - Festival D'Avignon
A cultural festival poster, distinct from a gallery or museum exhibition context.
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Pablo Picasso - Musee Cantini Marseille
A French museum poster, useful for comparing period institutional design across different venues.
View PosterA Note for Collectors
Describe exactly what the object is. Check exhibition, institution, date, printing method where known and whether the sheet was actually issued for the event. Never imply that a poster is a signed or limited fine-art work unless it genuinely is.
Explore More
Browse our Pablo Picasso collection and Art & Exhibition Posters, or continue with Joan Miró and our Poster History guide.
Original Posters by Pablo Picasso
A live look at Pablo Picasso posters currently in the Printed Originals collection.
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Pablo Picasso - Gagosian Gallery New York
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Pablo Picasso - Gagosian Gallery London
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Pablo Picasso - Marlborough Godard Toronto
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Pablo Picasso - Festival D'Avignon
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Pablo Picasso - Musee Dynamique - Dakar
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Pablo Picasso - Musee Cantini Marseille
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Pablo Picasso - S'Amuse! - Galerie de Seine
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Pablo Picasso - Chaise Dieu
