"Painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war for attack and defence against the enemy. A good painting ought to bristle with razor blades. (Pablo Picasso)

Edward Lucie-Smith reassesses Picasso's reputation and achievement in the centenary of his birth with the voice of the artist and contributions from Sir Roland Penrose, Rafael Diaz-Casariego, Victor Ganz, Sir Anton Dolin, Matta, John Richardson, Francoise Gilot, the late Bennett Cerf, Claude Gilot Picasso, the late Daniel Henri Kahnweiler, Dr John Golding, J.B. Donne, Dr Herbert Southworth, Henry Geldzahler, David Hockney, Joseph Kosuth, Leonard Baskin, Ken Kiff and Henry Moore.

('Picasso's Picassos' opens at the Hayward Gallery on Friday)
Brookes On...: page 73