Art & Culture

A new Picasso exhibition is coming to Manchester featuring unseen archived works

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 6th March 2026

A new exhibition by Pablo Picasso opens in Manchester next week including works never-before seen on public display.  

The new exhibition, titled Picasso: A Legacy, is comprised of more than 35 original works on paper and ceramics, all of which were created by the artist from the mid 1930s up until his death in 1973, and visitors will get to be guided through the last four decades of his life.

You’ll also get to encounter the artist‘s lovers and muses, mythological alter egos, and playful zoomorphic ceramics, as well as feats of frantic artistic output that made up Picasso’s final decade. 

Featured in the exhibition are individual editions, as well as complete portfolios and books such as Nature morte aux poires et au pichet (c. 1960) and La Guerre et la paix (1954), to name just a few.

Some of the ceramics visitors can expect to see on display when the exhibition opens at Castle Fine Art gallery in Manchester early next week include Joueur de flûte (1951) and Yan soleil (1963) – which are described as being ‘whimsical experiments in three dimensions’ made while Picasso was living in the south of France. 

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The exhibition will examine how minotaurs, fauns, bulls, matadors, and owls populated Picasso’s work, each serving as alter egos to express himself.

Exhibition curators say Picasso’s ‘prolific’ output in his later years is often read as an act of creative defiance against his own mortality, an attempt to delay time, and cement his place within the canon of art history, and the result is a body of work that is deemed both playful and profound.

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A new Picasso exhibition is coming to Manchester featuring unseen archived works / Credit: Supplied

This new collection coming to Manchester next week proves just that.

“We believe everyone should be able to experience the joy of fine art and it is a privilege to share this exhibition from one the most influential artists of the 20th century,” commented Ian Weatherby-Blythe, who is the Managing Director of Castle Fine Art, ahead of the exhibition opening.

“[The exhibition] is open to all to enjoy at our King Street gallery and features over 35 original artworks from the extraordinary last four decades of Picasso’s life.”

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Picasso: A Legacy will be on view from 10am on Monday 9 March until 4 May 2026 at Castle Fine Art, and the exhibition is free to enter and open daily.

Featured Image – Supplied