Much has been written of Picasso's involvement with Cubism, his artistic relationship with the poet Apollinaire and his admiration of Aubrey Beardsley and Oscar Wilde but this is the first exhibition to highlight the influence Picasso had on British Artists, Francis Bacon, Ben Nicholson, David Hockney, Duncan Grant, Wyndham Lewis and Graham Sutherland.

There are more than sixty paintings by Picasso who was rather embarrassingly ignored by the doyens of British Art for decades. He was only sporadically exhibited in Britain from 1910 and throughout the following decades, with the exception of ICA founder Roland Penrose and The Bloomsbury Group's enthusiasm for his works, until a major show at The Tate in 1960 attracted over 460,000 visitors.

His longevity (1881-1973) and artistic development is eloquently covered from his first visit to London in 1919 where he worked on the costumes and scenery for Diaghilev's production of 'The Three Cornered Hat', his early days in Paris in his destitute years as a post impressionist painter, early cubism, to Picasso's more surreal mode of the 1920's, and his political anti war sentiments in the stark and visceral 'Guernica' 1937.

Despite only visiting Britain twice, in 1919 and in 1950 for a Peace Conference, the exhibition in presenting many of the works by Picasso and the British artists in pairs, clearly illustrates the impact and influence the artist had in shaping their artistic careers, and as Spain's most famous artist, he actually spent most of his working life living in France where there was a great deal of exchange and synergy between British painters and modern artists and the artistic community in Paris from the '30s which was clearly brought home to these shores.

Henry Moore's 'reclining figure' 1936 has obvious parallels with Picasso's 'The Source' 1921 and much of Moore's work contains the grotesque and distorted images of the human subject but in the monumental form of sculpture and Francis Bacon's 'Three studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion' – classic Bacon derived from the distorted figures of Picasso's Dinard paintings.

David Hockney, from visiting Picasso's Tate exhibition decades later in 1960 begins a lifelong obsession with Picasso and following Picasso's death in 1973 made two prints in tribute, 'The Student; in Homage to Picasso' and Artist and Model' but perhaps his most poignant and touching tribute to the artist is his 1985 photographic collage, 'Paint Trolley' , featuring paint brushes, cloths, paint and canvas and Christian Zervos's legendary catalogue raisonne of Picasso's output – it suggests "You cannot be a painter without Picasso at your side".

This is simply the best three hours or more I have spent at a gallery in a long time and many of Picasso's better known classic paintings such as 'The Three Dancers', 'Weeping Woman' and 'Guitar Suspended on a Wall' round off a superb exhibition – not to be missed.

Picasso & Modern British Art at Tate Britain until July 15th.



Pretentious Modern Artist of the Month.

This simply must go to Song Dong's 'Waste Not' at The Barbican Curve Gallery.
Chinese artist, Song Dong, has turned 10,000 contents of his mother's house into an art installation which includes a vast collection of washing up bowls, plastic bottle caps and an array of utterly useless household junk.
There is also a nice collection of plant pots however, so as it's that time of year for potting your plants and bulbs I'm sure Song Dong wouldn't mind if you pick out a few for the garden on the way out.

© Words Dave Cairns/ ZANI Media