We've all had the fantasy of being able to know what is inside the private diaries, letters, or yes, address books of celebrities. Brigitte Benkemoun's husband bought a replacement Hermes agenda on Ebay ( I happen to know these very well, I still have a desk black one with my initials and a small pocket red one similar to the one her husband was looking for though mine are consigned to a file cabinet now when I cruelly abandoned them first for Filofax and then the Contacts section of my iPhone). When it arrived, she was overwhelmed to discover the names of very famous French artists, poets and writers of the 20th century like Balthus, Brassai, Breton, Cocteau, Eluard--along with a plumber and architect and a hairdresser. It did not take her long to learn it was the agenda of none other than Dora Maar, known principally as the Weeping Woman model for Picasso and his lover for many years who was devastated when he abandoned her for Francoise Gilot (and others) and became a religious recluse in Mesnerbes, Provence. Benkemoun imagines the relationship Maar might have had with each entry, often importing her own conclusions when facts do not present themselves, but it is still a very engaging and often moving promenade down memory lane. The book has been published by the Getty, where the retrospective of Maar's important work as a photographer and artist was shown, exhumed first at the Pompidou. I had my own chase of Dora Maar and treasure her letters to me.

Pablo Picasso, Buste de femme (Dora Maar), 1940, Oil on canvas, 29 1/8 x 23 5/8 in, 74 x 60 cm, © 2019 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York, Photo: Erich Koyama, Courtesy Gagosian

When I corresponded with Dora Maar to try to pin her down for an interview for our WNET Picasso documentary at the time of last major Picasso retrospective at MoMA, she was slippery but made sure to ask after John Richardson's whereabouts as she wanted to reconnect with him. She was a tough get, but he got her.

A newly opened homage to Richardson, Picasso's biographer, is also a testament to Gagosian's ability to pull together so many important images in record time. Some of the images of Marie Therese appeared in the Tate Modern retrospective last year. But others felt new to me. Perhaps it’s because I see these images in a slightly different way each time. Recently I too have been examining the role of the women in Picasso’s life and work.

To that end, I often revisit Richardson/Picasso and I'm always impressed by the wealth of personal detail and the profound sense of humor that he brought to this artist, the most chameleon-like of subjects. Richardson organized a number of electric Picasso shows at Gagosian and though this is a less ‘curated’ affair, it still invokes the complex relationships he had with so many of his lovers/muses/wife.

The last upcoming volume of his Picasso biography which will be published posthumously will surely add more delicious tidbits as well as enormous scholarship and I eagerly await it.