Picasso & Lump: A Dachshund's Odyssey (Hardcover)

by David Douglas Duncan (Author), Paloma Picasso Thevenet (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
One spring morning in 1957, veteran photojournalist David Douglas Duncan paid a visit to his friend and frequent photographic subject Pablo Picasso, at the artistÕs villa near Cannes. As copilot alongside Duncan in his Mercedes Gullwing 300 SL was the photographerÕs dachshund, Lump. Photographer and dog were close companions, but DuncanÕs nomadic lifestyle and his other dog Ñ a giant Afghan hound who had tormented the autocratic and temperamental Lump Ñ made home life in Rome difficult. When they arrived at PicassoÕs Villa La Californie that historic day, Lump decided that he had found paradise on earth, and that he would move in with Picasso, whether the artist wanted him to or not.

This is the background for an utterly original book that offers an uncommonly sensitive portrait of Picasso. Lump was immortalized in a Picasso portrait painted on a plate the day they met, but that was just the beginning. In a suite of 45 paintings reinterpreting Vel‡squezÕs masterpiece Las Meninas, Picasso replaced the impassive hound in the foreground with jaunty renderings of Lump. Fifteen of those paintings are reproduced here in full color, juxtaposed with DuncanÕs dramatic and intimate black-and-white photographs of Picasso and Lump, bringing full circle the odyssey of a fortunate dachshund who found his way from reluctant road warrior to furry and elongated icon of modern art.

About the Author
AUTHORBIO: David Douglas Duncan was an acclaimed combat photographer for LIFE magazine for much of his life. He lives in Mouans-Sartoux, France.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 100 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch (May 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821258109
• ISBN-13: 978-0821258101
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #148,815 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Artist and Dog, July 14, 2006

By	William Cothron "Dachsund Afficianado" (Kentucky, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book presents a charming side of Picasso, demonstrating his affection for a sweet dachshund named Lump. The photos show Picasso's universal, gullible side in allowing himself to be wonderfully manipulated by a dog ! The images of them together are unforgettable.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 100 pictures of a man and his dog, October 28, 2006

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A delightful little book about a man, his dog and a reknown photographer.

Picasso is of course well known, so no more about him. Lump was a dachshund owned by the photographer who descided for reasons all his own that he was Picasso's dog and that he was to live at Picasso's house. Duncan is a reknowned photographer who normally specialized in combat photography but who proves here that his eye for a picture isn't restricted to the war zone.

The book is about a hundred pictures of Picasso and Lump, Picasso painting pictures of Lump, pictures painted by Picasso of Lunp. Both Lump and Picasso left us in 1973, the pictures are all that remain. Yet they tell a story all their own. Delightful, Warm, and a side of Picallo not seen before.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, May 12, 2007

By	B. Gunther "bgmac01" (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I didn't realize when I ordered this book that it was primarily a photographic essay. The pictures are delightful but, as a dachshund "owner," I had hoped for more of a written history of the adventures of Lump. 'Owner' in quotes since anyone who has lived with a dachsie knows who owns whom.