Pablo Picasso, Portrait de Jacqueline de face I (B1064), 1961, linocut on paper, 25.19 x 20.69 in.

Picasso's legacy still looms over contemporary art 50 years after his death. From his classical roots, he co-founded Cubism, dabbled in Surrealism, and morphed into blue and rose periods, all the while focusing on the reign of the line. 

"In a real way, he allowed artists to free themselves," said Justin Ferate, co-curator of the exhibit at Santa Fe's LewAllen Galleries. LewAllen is showcasing Picasso's prints in Celebrating Picasso's Legacy: Important Works on Paper through May 6, 2023. 

Picasso devoted his life to art for nearly 80 years. Throughout his career, the artist produced more than 20,000 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, theater sets and costumes. Like a jazz musician improvising riffs, his lines took shortcuts, switchbacks and U-turns, all the while defining the truth of the image. "Art is the lie that makes us recognize the truth," he said.

The celebratory exhibition covers the span of Picasso's printmaking oeuvre, featuring works from early in his career to later works such as Portrait de Jacqueline de face I, (1961) a striking linocut of his second wife.