Edward Quinn photographs Picasso

By Wolfgang Frei

“Lui, il ne me dérange pas” (he doesn’t bother me), commented Picasso about Edward Quinn after the latter photographed him at work for the first time on March 23, 1953. This was not only a compliment to an unassuming photographer, but to some extent a license to record the master unhindered. Quinn was one of the few photographers who were allowed to document him at work and whom he tolerated in his private circle. Quinn had taken the first pictures of Picasso two years earlier, which led to a friendship that lasted until Picasso’s death in 1973. Quinn took more than 10,000 photos during the artist’s time in southern France.

The Irishman, born in 1920, first worked as a musician after the Second World War (“Eddie Quinero, le célèbre guitariste électrique”) and as an aircraft navigator. In 1949 he moved with his Swiss partner Gret to Monaco while in search of a new job. Never before or since the “Golden ’50s and ’60s” has there been a place like the Côte d’Azur, where so many stars, politicians and artists came to live or vacation. Newspapers and magazines were still very numerous – only later to be replaced by television – and highly eager to obtain photos of these celebrities. Quinn recognized the potential rewards of becoming a photojournalist here: self-taught, he acquired the necessary knowledge from books and photographic journals. He started with pictures of Riviera landscapes, warships in the port of Monaco and pin-ups on the beach. After a short while, he was able to establish himself as a freelance photojournalist, producing work for major international magazines such as Paris Match, Life, Tempo and Revue.

One of the celebrities who settled on the Côte d’Azur in the late 1940s was Picasso. The artist was already a media star, and his name had a magical appeal for newspapers and magazines.  Following an exhibition opening in 1951, Quinn succeeded in taking his first photos of the artist, who posed with his two children Claude and Paloma. Picasso was one of Quinn’s very first celebrity subjects. The pictures obviously pleased the artist, and he responded cordially to Quinn’s request for more images – although it was not until two years later that the first photo session of Picasso at work took place.

Quinn was not one of the paparazzi, the intrusive celebrity photographers of the tabloid press. He was very much the Irish gentleman: reserved, almost shy, though very determined when he had his mind set on a particular image. Quinn regarded himself as an equal partner of the celebrities he recorded; photographer and subject should cooperate to achieve a positive result for both parties. He soon became friends with Picasso, as evidenced by the artist’s touching dedication, dated July 30, 1954, on the linocut Toros en Vallauris: “Para el amigo Quinn – el buon fotografo” (For my friend Quinn – a fine photographer). Quinn was well aware of the conflict inherent in his personal friendship with Picasso and his role as a professional photographer, for whom a journalistic interest in his “subject” necessarily came first. His choice in this dilemma between distance and close friendship was clear: “I decided to remain a friend of Picasso” (Edward Quinn, Picasso: Photographs from 1951 – 1972, New York 1980, p. 11). However, when required by the context of a picture sequence, he sometimes published pictures that Picasso might not have liked. Nevertheless, Picasso tolerated them because he respected Quinn’s work. Picasso never asked to see his photos ahead of time in order to censor them prior to publication. Quinn, however, would always bring along enlargements of the pictures he had made on his last visit, or would show Picasso the layout of a planned book.

Although Quinn was part of the artist’s inner circle of friends, visits were almost never scheduled far in advance. Picasso often made it known that he did not want to receive anyone. It was therefore very difficult to work with him in a continuous way. Nearly all of the sessions were unforeseen and improvised. This, however, suited Quinn’s mode of working: his photography did not need much technical preparation. Unlike other photographers, he did not use a tripod or illuminate spaces artificially, nor did he position Picasso to obtain the best image. Quinn rejected art photography by others who worked in this way, even though the technical result was sometimes superior. In his opinion, this was not the kind of photography that captured the artist’s personality: “It remained – even when the photographs were outstanding – stereotypical because it reflected the personality of the photographer.” (Ibid. p.11)

Nothing was ever specially arranged before taking the pictures. The photos reflect situations as they occurred. It was all about showing the conditions under which the artist created his works. “I could do what I liked as long as Picasso could do as he liked, and this usually meant Picasso carrying on with his work. For ultimately Picasso’s life is ruled by one passion – work.” (Edward Quinn: Picasso at Work. New York 1964, p. 4) The goal was an unstaged, credible record, an authentic and documentary image. Quinn would never have disturbed Picasso with an aggressive flash, and he mainly used the quiet and inconspicuous Leica camera as well as a Rolleiflex. Camera motor technology, which allows continuous shooting, was already available at the time, but Quinn did not make use of it. This was not only because of the annoying staccato noise, but also because he favored the deliberately photographed, decisive image, an opinion shared by Anselm Adams: “The ‘machine-gun’ approach to photography – by which many negatives are made with the hope that one will be good – is fatal to serious results.” (Anselm Adams, A Personal Credo: American Annual of Photography 1944)

Quinn’s photographs, many of which have never been published, show how Picasso was inspired by everyday as well as extraordinary things and people around him. In this look at the personality, at the person behind the pictures, clichés about reality and opposites are also made visible: leisure and work, the everyday as opposed to art, the womanizer and the family man, the extroverted clown and joker as well as the very thoughtful master. A fascinating album from a period spanning more than 20 years.