On September 29, 2024, Remai Modern welcomes the 2024 speaker for the Mendel International Lecture: Fred Mulder. He is the person who assembled the museum’s collection of linocut works, which were generously donated to the museum in 2012 by the Frank and Ellen Remai Foundation. His sold-out talk, A Kid from the Prairies: how Remai Modern came to have the world’s greatest collection of Picasso linocuts, and other tales will contain fascinating stories about his life and career. The lecture takes place the same weekend as the Innovate | Collaborate Printmaking Gathering, two days of programs that highlight the fascinating world of printmaking through an all-star cast of artists and experts.
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There’s no doubt Remai Modern’s Picasso linocut collection is special. Read on to learn just a few of the reasons why.
Surprising thing #1: That these works are even here
While we haven’t gotten any Picasso scholars to confirm this, it’s unlikely he ever visited Saskatoon, or Saskatchewan for that matter. It might seem strange then, that these works have made their home at Remai Modern. But the story behind this gift is a true testament to a love for this province. This group of linocuts was assembled by Mulder, a UK art dealer and world expert in 19th- and 20th-century European prints. He just so happens to be from Eston, SK, a town two hours southeast of Saskatoon with a population of less than 1,000.
In 2012, the Frank and Ellen Remai Foundation purchased 405 linocuts from Mulder, and donated them to Remai Modern, one of many generous contributions made to the museum by the foundation. In 2014, Mulder made a gift of 23 ceramics along with one of the remaining four linocut subjects. We are so grateful to these generous citizens for their gifts to the people of Saskatoon and visitors from around the world.
Surprising thing #2: That Remai Modern’s Picasso linocut collection is the most comprehensive . . . in the world!
Yes, you read that correctly! No other museum in the world can boast a collection of Picasso linocuts that rivals Remai Modern’s collection. There are 197 Picasso linocut subjects known to exist and the museum has 194 of them. If you add in the 212 working proofs the museum also holds, the total is 406 Picasso linocut works.
Surprising thing #3: That Picasso made mistakes too
It can be tempting to think that famous artists were so good at their craft that they never messed up. But some of Picasso’s linocuts show a very human side of the artist. The process of printmaking means the artist has to carve their design in a mirror image so it prints the correct way. Numerous works in the museum’s Picasso collection show times where he must have forgotten that fact. Check out the date on the above image. It is backwards. It’s just one of many Picasso works in our collection with a backwards date. He may have been artistic genius, but he made mistakes too.
Surprising thing #4: That the experimental or unfinished works can be even more interesting than the finished ones
Having access to experimental works and print stages gives viewers a unique opportunity to see the mind of a master artist at work. Picasso was trying this medium later in his career, long after he was successful, but he was an artist who was always interested in pushing his practice further. We love seeing his unfinished or test prints in order to better understand his process.
Surprising thing #5: That there are always interesting new ways to showcase these works
The museum almost always has works on view from the Picasso collection, but the exhibitions themselves change regularly. Remai Modern’s curatorial team does an excellent job of drawing out new themes in Picasso’s work and putting the pieces in conversations with works by other artists. The above photos show just a few of the different interpretations our team has shared with visitors.
We can’t wait to see what they come up with next!
Learn more:
- Montecristo Magazine: A Museum on the Canadian Prairies Holds an Unmatched Trove of Pablo Picasso’s Prints
See what’s on view at Remai Modern now.