Picasso My Grandfather Book

This family memoir of life in the shadow of "The Sun"-the twentieth century's greatest painter-who towered over the lives of his wives, children, and grandchildren, is told by Marina Picasso, the granddaughter of Picasso and his first wife, Olga Kokhlova, a former Russian ballerina who remained married to him until her death.

Writers, artists, and film stars installed themselves in Picasso's orbit, even as his family lived in impoverished conditions, in terror of provoking his displeasure, unable to carve lives and identities of their own for the control he exerted over their every move. After years of humiliation, her father drank himself to death. Then, the day after Picasso's death, her brother poisoned himself. Marina's own estrangement and subsequent breakdown followed, until at last, through grief and awakening, she found herself and came to terms with the blessings and curses of the Picasso legacy. The result is this fascinating and operatic account of her grandfather's first family.

Fame, tragedy, glamour, excess, passion, betrayal, and redemption: All the essential ingredients for a compelling family drama are in full force in this story of the private world of one of the great iconic figures of the last century.