Picasso and Dora: A Memoir [Paperback]

James Lord (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 2003

This fresh and vivid portrait of the postwar Paris art world, written by a member of Picasso’s circle, sheds original new light on the greatest of modern artists and on the most important and least-known of his loves, the alluring and formidable photographer and painter Dora Maar.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Lord's memoir reflects on Paris, Dora Maar, and the larger-than-life Pablo Picasso. Author of two books on his friend Alberto Giacometti, Lord supplies a tantalizing stream of prose built on his journals, coaxing the reader into his vivid recollections of Paris under the occupation and Paris after the war. He paints an unflattering portrait of the great artist, while revealing his own relationship with Dora, Picasso's mistress. Picasso and Dora are not the whole subject of the story, however; Lord is really the main character. His impressions, homosexuality, and life are just as much the subject as Picasso and Dora. And his probing the mystery of Dora, though insistent, finally uncovers more mystery, although it may shed some light on an assortment of friends and acquaintances who are mentioned but given no real substance. Those interested in Picasso, Paris, and modern art will want to read this book. -- Ellen Bates, New York
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

An intricate and intimate view of Picasso's aloof mistress and model Dora Maar, by onetime-companion Lord (Giacometti, 1985, etc.). An American soldier in Paris in 1944, Lord seeks out Picasso and requests that the artist draw his portrait. Picasso takes Lord to lunch with Maar--the first encounter in what evolves into the author's infatuation with the muse. Maar and her role in Picasso's genius fascinate Lord, who toys with the idea of himself being a ``figment'' of Picasso's ``creative imagination.'' From the fall of 1953 into the spring of 1954, when Maar is 46 and Lord 31, the two have dinner almost every night and spend weeks together away from Paris. Lord claims constant enchantment: ``being with Dora...was the be-all and end-all of thinking as well as of feeling.'' And later: ``I never ceased to be under the spell of her beauty, the lambent gleam of her gaze, the bird-of-paradise voice...all the aura of tense serenity and power and pathos so poignantly portrayed by Picasso.'' Yet the pair's bond is defined by Lord's homosexuality (``seeking promiscuous oblivion in the embraces of boys''). At night, Maar and Lord separate with a ritual kiss, the writer constantly pondering the model's expectations. Lord's narrative, based on a journal, contains countless backstage details--from Picasso's insults at a party given by the collector Douglas Cooper to Dora's attachment to a cigarette lighter that had ``cost'' the artist ``a visit to the Place Vendome.'' But of deeper interest than these anecdotes is a long, climactic letter in which Lord finally denounces his and Maar's unequal roles and the pride, selfishness, and avarice that, he says, isolate Maar--who still lives in Paris, in the same apartment where they so often sat. An account memorable in its frankness about a ``friendship'' that was extraordinary but flawed--not least because of the friends' shared obsession with ``the monarch of twentieth-century art.'' (Illustrations--not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (December 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374528357
• ISBN-13: 978-0374528355
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,133,741 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The story of a friendship, September 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Picasso and Dora: A Personal Memoir (Paperback)

Picasso & Dora is the story of a friendship, but not that of Picasso and Dora. Rather it is the story of the friendship of the author and the mysterious Dora Maar. Both these characters are fascinating personalities, as they move in close and then distance themselves. The fact that Lord is a gay man in love, in his own way, with Dora adds a complexity and richness to the story. It is reminsicent of Isherwood and Sally Bowles and Capote and Holly Golightly. There is a special poignancy to the story of a gay man who loves a woman, yet cannot offer her the love she really wants. Lord writes exceptionally well and Dora, who died just recently at an advanced age, lives on in his words.

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books, July 27, 2011

By 

K. Hogue "kevinigloo" (Spokane, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Picasso and Dora: A Memoir (Paperback)

I read this book shortly after it came out and have kept it ever since. It is a warm, intimate portrait of Dora Maar's friendship with the author. It is a very special book.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Most Beautiful Book!, September 17, 2010

By 

Anna V. Carroll - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Picasso and Dora: A Memoir (Paperback)

Two years into my retirement, I find myself buying copious amounts of used books on amazon.com each week. As they (amazon) can attest, I go through cycles. My Irish movie cycle. My Sir Anthony Hopkins cycle. My Stephen Rea cycle. My Onassis/Callas cycle. My Richard Burton/Elizabeth Taylor cycle. My Angelina Jolie cycle. I am now on my Dora/James Lord cycle. Not familiar with the artist or her work, I purchased this book out of curiosity. What a wonderful surprise it was! Mr. Lord writes so beautifully. He, too, is (was) an artist in his own right and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with those he wrote about. This book paints a picture of Paris after WWII that is so vivid I feel sometimes a wine stain will appear on one of the pages out of thin air. I thought this book was about the romance between the two artists, but it is a separate and thorough look at his friendships with both. He lived a long life (86) and left a legacy that will be read and respected for decades to come. I sat on my sofa tonight reading pages aloud to my cat, India. She seemed to hang on to every word. I know I will re-read this book for years to come. So delighted I found it. You will not be sorry you purchased a copy for yourself. I promise!