Throughout her life, French-born Françoise Gilot combined artistic talent with academic achievement. At the age of five, her mother gave her a set of watercolor paints and encouraged her artistic development, while her father insisted she study international law. Highly demanding, he even had her reading Baudelaire during bouts of childhood insomnia. At twenty-one, Gilot left the University of Paris to study art at the Académie Julian. After earning a degree in Philosophy from the Sorbonne and studying English at Cambridge, she devoted herself fully to painting and other artistic pursuits.

From 1946 to 1953, Gilot worked closely with Pablo Picasso during one of the most formative periods of her career. During this time, she also developed a close friendship with Henri Matisse. Gilot and Picasso lived together and had two children.

Gilot also illustrated four books of her poetry and served as a visiting professor in the Department of Painting, Drawing, and Etching at the University of California at Idyllwild. She later maintained a studio in New York City, where she painted daily, often working on several canvases at once. Her work is known for its dynamic compositions and vibrant use of primary colors.

Sources:
From the internet, WIC Biography
‘Past-Present: The Mythological Paintings of Françoise Gilot’ in American Artist December 1993
‘Painterly Intuition’ by Diane Rozas in Art & Antiques Magazine, January 2003
Review of autobiography by Hilarie M. Sheets in ARTnews, May 2001