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Douglas Cooper – a complex character with a passion for Cubism

Prone to paranoia and tantrums, the critic and collector made many enemies, but his firsthand knowledge of Léger, Picasso and Braque also won the admiration of art historians

31 May 2025

9:00 AM

31 May 2025

9:00 AM

Irascible: The Combative Life of Douglas Cooper, Collector and Friend of Picasso Adrian Clark and Richard Calvocoressi

Yale, pp.592, 45

The collector, art historian and critic Douglas Cooper (1911-84) relished conflict. He was a formidable man, loud in speech and dress, with forceful views and a taste for ridicule. He could also be very funny. John Richardson, Picasso’s biographer, who knew Cooper better than most, said it was as though an angel and a demon child were perpetually fighting for control of his personality.

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