First Lines of John Richardson's "A Life of Picasso Vol 4"

"Of all of the problems besetting Picasso in late 1932, foremost was the misery of married life with his Russian wife, Olga. As recounted in volume III, the former ballerina, who had prided herself, to Picasso's ever-increasing dismay, on being an impeccably ladylike consort and hostess, had become a termagant at home."

- John Richardson, from A Life of Picasso: The Minotaur Years, 1933-1943

Another excellent volume in Richardson's Picasso multi-volume biography. I appreciate how he blends facts, antidotes, and observations about Picasso's artwork in a brisk narrative. He doesn't get too bogged down in details while giving important events the space they need to thrive. My only objection about this book is that it felt too brief: It ended in 1943 as WWII was still raging and affecting everything about Picasso's life. I understand the choice - Picasso's art was about to change as he changed mistresses from Dora Marr to Francoise Gilot (as Richardson puts it, "Picasso's love for [Gilot], and hers for him, would be that of master and pupil rather than master and slave.") Still, I longed for the narrative to continue until the end of the war. With Richardson recently dying, I'm bummed that this will be the last volume and won't continue to cover the latter years of this fascinating artist's life.