by Jon Lackman | 22 January 2010 | Modern
From the University of Virginia:
Lydia Gasman, a retired art history professor at the University of Virginia, died Jan. 15 in Charlottesville. She was 84. Gasman, who grew up in Romania, was on the U.Va. faculty from 1981 to 2001. She was an expert on symbolism in Pablo Picasso’s artwork. “She contributed as much to Picasso studies as anyone,” said David Summers, a retired art history professor who knew her well.
According to Gasman’s cv (pdf here), numerous art-history texts reference and praise her work, particularly her 1981 dissertation, “Mystery, Magic, and Love in Picasso, 1925-1938: Picasso and the Surrealist Poets.”
Update: See also Roberta Smith’s obituary in The New York Times.
