Fernande Olivier was the first real love in the life of Pablo Picasso, and the years she spent with the great artist, 1904 to 1912, coincide with the period of some of his most revolutionary work. Here, in her compelling and revelatory journal, published for the first time in English, Olivier vividly depicts her turbulent relationship with Picasso and, in her letters to Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, and Guillaume Apollinaire, sheds new light on the Parisian art scene of the early 20th century. Loving Picasso brings Olivier's memoirs to life with archival photographs, reproductions of her own artwork, paintings for which she modeled before she met Picasso, and a selection of superb portraits of her by Picasso himself. A foreword and notes by Picasso scholar Marilyn McCully set the journal and letters in context, and an epilogue by distinguished art historian and Picasso biographer John Richardson tells the story of Olivier's life after her final breakup with Picasso. Author Biography: Marilyn McCully has published many books and articles on Picasso, and has organized exhibitions of the artist's work, most recently "Picasso: Painter and Sculptor in Clay" at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She lives in London. John Richardson is a noted authority on Picasso's life and work. He is currently working on the third volume of his acclaimed biography of the artist, A Life of Picasso. He lives in New York City.