Spanning the full career of Picasso (1881–1973), from his first cut drawings made in 1899 at nine years of age through to the 1960s with works he made in his eighties, Picasso Cut Papers features some of the artist’s most whimsical and intriguing works made on paper and in paper, alongside a select group of sculptures in metal, wood and ceramic. Although Picasso rarely sold or exhibited his cut papers (or papiers découpés) during his lifetime, he signed, dated and archived them just as he did all his works. They were simply part of a more private studio practice, often made for family or as models for his fabricators.

The first publication to focus solely on Picasso’s cut papers, this book features many works reproduced for the first time with newly commissioned photography, alongside new scholarship on a little-known aspect of one of the 20th century’s most pivotal practices, which contribute to the ongoing discourse surrounding innovation and abstraction at the roots of modern art. Also featured is a photo section that surveys Picasso’s engagement with cut paper and sculpture over the decades and documents his practice of cutting paper, both in and out of the studio.