Chicago Picasso Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Chicago Picasso

Artist	Pablo Picasso
Year	1967
Medium	Sculpture, COR-TEN steel Fabricator: American Bridge Company
Dimensions	15 m (50 ft)
Location	Daley Plaza, Chicago
Coordinates	41°53′01″N 87°37′48″W / 41.88361°N 87.62997°W / 41.88361; -87.62997

The Chicago Picasso is a very famous sculpture by the artist Pablo Picasso. It stands tall in Daley Plaza in Chicago, Illinois. This huge artwork was put in place in 1967. It helped change how cities thought about public art, making it more than just statues of important people.

The sculpture is made from a special kind of steel called COR-TEN steel. It was officially shown to the public on August 15, 1967. The artwork is 50 feet (15.2 m) tall and weighs 162 short tons (147 t). Picasso's sculpture is known for its Cubist style. He later said it looked like the head of his Afghan Hound dog, Kabul. It was the first large, abstract public artwork in downtown Chicago. Today, it is a well-known landmark. People often climb and slide on its base, almost like a jungle gym.

The idea for the sculpture came in 1963. Architects building the Chicago Civic Center (now the Richard J. Daley Center) wanted a modern artwork. This building is also made of COR-TEN steel and has an open plaza. An architect named William Hartmann helped make the project happen. Picasso made a small model of the sculpture in 1965. He approved the final design in 1966. The sculpture cost about $351,959.17 to build. This money came mostly from three charities. Picasso was offered $100,000 for his work. But he refused, saying he wanted to give the sculpture as a gift to the city.

Building the Picasso Sculpture
What Inspired the Picasso?
- Picasso's Dog, Kabul
- Other Ideas for Inspiration
The Picasso in Chicago Life and Movies
- A Place for Protests and Events
- Appearing in Movies
Images for kids
See also

Building the Picasso Sculpture

How the Idea Started

Richard Bennett, an architect on the Daley Center project, wrote a poem to Picasso. He asked Picasso to create a sculpture for Chicago. Picasso agreed, saying he usually did not take such jobs. He mentioned he was working on projects for "two great gangster cities." The other city was Marseille, France.

Making the Sculpture

The American Bridge Company built the sculpture. They used COR-TEN steel at their factory in Gary, Indiana. The steel for the statue came from a very large rolling mill. Before the final steel sculpture was made, a 3.5-meter (about 12 feet) tall wooden model was built. Picasso approved this model. It was later sent to the Gary Career Center. Work began on the sculpture in Daley Plaza on May 25, 1967.

Sharing the Art with Everyone

The City of Chicago worked hard to tell everyone about the sculpture. They held many events before it was finished. They also showed the small model without a copyright notice. Because of this, a judge later decided that the sculpture belonged to the public domain. This means anyone can use images of it freely.

What Inspired the Picasso?

Picasso's Dog, Kabul

At an event for another sculpture, Picasso told Stanley Coren about his inspiration. He said the head of the Chicago sculpture was an abstract picture of his Afghan Hound dog, Kabul.

Right now I have an Afghan Hound named Kabul. He is elegant, with graceful proportions, and I love the way he moves. I put a representation of his head on a statue that I created for Daley Plaza in Chicago and I do think of him sometimes while I am in my studio.

—Pablo Picasso

Other Ideas for Inspiration

Some people think the sculpture might have been inspired by a French woman named Sylvette David. She posed for Picasso in 1954. She was 19 years old and had a high ponytail and a long neck. Picasso's grandson, Olivier Widmaier Picasso, said his grandfather made many pictures of her. He believed the Chicago Sculpture was inspired by her. Picasso made 40 artworks inspired by Sylvette.

In the 1970s, Jacqueline Picasso (Pablo Picasso's wife) told someone it was a male baboon seen from the front. She said Picasso loved how the animal looked different from various angles. This was part of his interest in African art. Another idea is that it was inspired by Picasso's portraits of Jacqueline herself. A historian named Patricia Stratton has suggested Jacqueline Roque Picasso was the model.

The Picasso in Chicago Life and Movies

A Place for Protests and Events

The Picasso sculpture has been a site for many important events. On August 23, 1968, a group called the Yippies held a press conference there. They nominated a pig named Pigasus for president. This happened just before the 1968 Democratic National Convention. That convention was known for its protests against the Vietnam War.

The Chicago Picasso is a popular meeting spot for people in Chicago. Throughout the year, many events happen around it in Daley Plaza. These include musical shows, farmers' markets, and a Christkindlmarkt (a German-style Christmas market).