Picabia

From museums and private collections all over the world come iconic works by Pablo Picasso, Giorgio De Chirico, Fernand Léger and Francis Picabia.

Edward Goldman: In These Gods We Trust Edward Goldman 2011

And for the life of me, I cannot understand the presence of so many decorative, mediocre paintings by Picabia, with their muddy colors and confusing overlaying imagery.

Edward Goldman: In These Gods We Trust Edward Goldman 2011

Michael Werner Gallery, New York 'Printemps' by Francis Picabia at the Michael Werner Gallery The question raised here: Can art, like some German tuba bands, be so bad that it's good?

The Good, the Bad and the Inspiring Peter Plagens 2012

Modern Antiquity: Picasso, de Chirico, Léger, and Picabia in the Presence of the Antique

Edward Goldman: In These Gods We Trust Edward Goldman 2011

On my bathroom wall hangs an early "Picabia" drawing.

The Good, the Bad and the Inspiring Peter Plagens 2012

But—and this is the curse of modernism's license to subvert itself—Mr. Picabia almost certainly wanted it that way.

The Good, the Bad and the Inspiring Peter Plagens 2012

Francis Picabia 1879-1953 was Duchamp's pal before Marcel made himself into a scandal.

The Good, the Bad and the Inspiring Peter Plagens 2012

Mr. Picabia was both smart as a whip and courageous in a decadent way.

The Good, the Bad and the Inspiring Peter Plagens 2012

The 1980s neo-expressionist David Salle practically made a career out of aping them and the "kitsch" pictures, which Mr. Picabia had derived from hack photographs in such magazines as Paris—Sex Appeal.

The Good, the Bad and the Inspiring Peter Plagens 2012

Evolving from his conceptual art background, his remix of tropes from Rosenquist, Picabia and Polke created canvases where high art references and pop trash collided.

This week's new exhibitions 2011