Francis Picabia

Happy Birthday Francis Picabia!! Born in France in 1879, Picabia lost his mother and maternal grandmother at an early age  and turned to art and painting as well as poetry. His father was a Spanish-Cuban and an attache to the Cuban legation so Picabia was financially secure. He studied art under Fernand Cormon at the Ecoles des Arts Decoratifs. His career began with Impressionist influence, then Cubism, but he gradually veered toward Surrealism and Dada. He eventually founded and wrote the well-known 391, a Dada newspaper modeled after Steiglitz' 291.