The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

The Bird

1963–1964

Françoise Gilot

(French, 1921–2023)
France, 20th century
oil on canvas
Overall: 81.3 x 65.5 cm (32 x 25 13/16 in.)
Gift of Mrs. Odette Valabrègue Wurzburger in memory of her late husband, Paul D. Wurzburger 1999.208
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Françoise Gilot met Pablo Picasso in 1943 and was his partner for nearly a decade; they had two children: Claude and Paloma.

Description

Françoise Gilot recalled that her first revelation of natural beauty occurred when she was six years old and visited the south of France with her grandparents. Her love of the Mediterranean later expanded to encompass Italy, Tunisia, Greece, and Egypt. She wrote, “During the 1960s, all my energies focused on the Greek seashore.” The azure blue in paintings such as The Bird can be seen as reflecting her interest in Greece. Birds were a recurring motif throughout Gilot’s artistic career that began in the 1940s and lasted until her death in 2023.
  • Brett Mitchell Collection, Inc., Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=The Bird|url=false|author=Françoise Gilot|year=1963–1964|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1999.208