British photographer Antony Penrose has many fond memories of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, including an amusing episode in which he bit him during play. He relates this anecdote and other experiences to Stephanie Fsadni.

Many people know Pablo Picasso for his art, but British photographer Antony Penrose mostly remembers him for his gentleness, playfulness and values. He has fond memories of the Spanish artist, who visited his family’s home in East Sussex and often invited the Penroses over to his house in southern France.

Antony Penrose with Pablo Picasso during his first visit to the Farley Farm House in East Sussex, England, in 1950. Photos: Lee Miller Archive

For Mr Penrose is the son of Sir Roland Penrose, a British surrealist artist, poet and the curator and biographer of Picasso, while his mother is Lee Miller, a model, fine art photographer and noted war correspondent. Picasso painted Miller’s portrait six times and she photographed him more than 1,000 times.

“I remember him with great affection. He was immensely kind to children and animals and his house in France was full of pets I loved playing with. My favourite was his pet goat Esmeralda,” says Penrose. “There were the most wonderful works of art by him and from other cultures, such as a fabulous African xylophone and drums, among other artefacts.”

Picasso first visited the Penrose family home, the Farley Farm House in East Sussex, in 1950. That is when Penrose, who was only three years old, bit him during a game.

“We were playing a game we called ‘bullfighting’ – it was way before I discovered how obnoxious bullfighting really is – and I was the bull. My job was to run across the room and try and gore Picasso. He was too quick for me and slipped out of the way every time, so I realised I needed a different strategy – and when he was not looking, I sneaked up and bit him. He bit me straight back and after that I never bit another person. Sad really – I could have had a serial career biting artists,” he quips.

Penrose has particularly fond memories of his visits to Picasso’s French home.

“It is hard to imagine it these days but then, coming from post-war Britain, it was like stepping into paradise,” he recalls.

“Of course, I loved him and his children but one of the most enduring memories was of Françoise Gilot – mother of Claude and Paloma – because she gave me wonderful patisseries, peaches, grapes and things we were unfamiliar with in the UK. Claude is my age and we played on the beach – it was sublime.”

His experience of Picasso, however, goes beyond the visits.

“He was ever present in my childhood, even when we were not with him because my parents’ lives revolved around the latest book or exhibition of his work, so I got it by osmosis,” he says.

The founder of the cubist art movement, who passed away in 1973, left an indelible mark on Penrose’s life.

His values of peace, freedom and justice will always be central to me

“His values of peace, freedom and justice will always be central to me. As for art, he showed me to always consider things which at first might not seem attractive or meaningful… to always look beyond the work of art to see what is hidden inside it.”

Penrose first followed a career in agriculture but his mother inspired his interest in photography. He himself took his first amateur photos of Picasso when he was 14. He later took pictures of other artists, such as another Spanish artist, Joan Miró, and American visual artist Man Ray.

Asked about his recollections of Miró, Penrose says: “He was completely different to Picasso – like a mysterious Buddhist monk who more than anything loved contemplating the flowers in the garden, the birds and the farm animals. He was quiet, gentle and immensely kind with – like Picasso – an undying commitment to peace, freedom and justice.”

Penrose was later introduced to film-making and established Penrose Film Productions, which mainly focuses on documentaries, technical films and drama shorts.

He also wrote a number of books about his family and even two children’s books about his experiences of Picasso and Miró. But his favourite of all remains his first book which was published in 1988.

“The Lives of Lee Miller will always have a special place in my heart. In writing it, I found a mother I never knew but, more importantly, I introduced her to many others who are inspired by her work,” he says proudly.

Picasso, holding Penrose in his arms, together with Lee Miller.

“I have a lovely repertoire of stories – usually from young women, who have made radical career changes, dumped unsuitable relationships and, in many cases, became photographers.

“Also, as my first book, it was a huge leap and I am so grateful I had a wonderful editor, Catherine Lamb, who made my text read fluently.”

The book is now being made into a major feature film starring Kate Winslet as Miller.

Following her death in 1977, a cache of Miller’s work was discovered in the attic of the family home by Penrose’s late wife Suzanna. It contained some 60,000 negatives, prints and manuscripts, which Penrose and Suzanna made the basis of the Lee Miller Archives. About 8,000 of these images are available online at www.leemiller.co.uk.

Penrose, 71, now travels the world giving lectures on photography, fine art and his parents’ work to museums and photographic societies and is accredited by the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies.

Today, he is giving a lecture about his entertaining and amusing account of life around Picasso at the Salini Resort in St Paul’s Bay as part of a series of lectures organised by the Decorative and Fine Arts Society in Malta.

He says: “I love this. I travel a lot – just lately I have been in Helsingborg in Sweden, Chicago, Luxembourg, Barcelona, and now Malta – of which I have very fond memories from when I was here in 1992.”

Anthony Penrose’s lecture willbe held today at 6.30pm at the Salini Resort in St Paul’s Bay. Admission is free for members of DFASinMalta but is against payment for non-members. For more information, visit https://www.maltadfas.nadfas.net/ .