Short story published in A Medicine for Melancholy (1959). Originally published: January 1957, Playboy. The story of "In a Season of Calm Weather" takes place when Picasso was creating his greatest masterpieces. George Smith, an American, is captivated by the beauty of Picasso's art, and while he and his wife are vacationing in France, George becomes ecstatic when he learns that Picasso is visiting friends in a small fishing town only a few miles away.