04.08.12 — Picasso by Stein — the Acrostic

Pablo Picasso Les Demoiselles d'avignon. 1907

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Sunday, April 8, 2012

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

Edited by Will Shortz

This Sunday’s challenging acrostic draws a quotation from Picasso by Gertrude Stein.

In this epochal gem originally published in London in 1938, Gertrude Stein tells of the arrival and rise of Picasso, and through him, Modernism and the 20th century, filtered through her own performance art. By "filtered" I am not suggesting that it is fiction or distorts its subject; in fact, it's a live action postcard from the epicenter of the man and movement. Not only does it inform with fact, it informs with form.

Stein does not overindulge herself, however, and imparts a generous amount of lucid thought on how Picasso created and from what and whom he drew his influences. She progresses chronologically through his periods-the blue, the rose, the harlequin, Cubist, calligraphic, etc., up to the point she was writing. This plus salient insights into society, war, creative artists and the 20th century in general make the volume quite a deal in a small package. ~ C. Ebeling "ctlpareader", amazon.com

The quotation: [HE] WROTE PAINTING AS OTHER CHILDREN WROTE THEIR A B C…. HIS DRAWINGS WERE NOT OF THINGS SEEN BUT OF THINGS EXPRESSED, IN SHORT THEY WERE WORDS FOR HIM AND DRAWING… WAS HIS ONLY WAY OF TALKING AND HE TALKED A GREAT DEAL.

The author’s name and the title of the work: GERTRUDE STEIN, PICASSO

The defined words:

A. Object of a chiseler’s desire, GALATEA
B. It’s coat of arms depicts three lions, ENGLAND
C. Bits of gorp, RAISINS
D. Mulch used in surfacing a circus ring, TANBARK
E. Bend, RELENT
F. Given to thought outside the box, UNORTHODOX
G. “A tyrant’s authority for crime and a fool’s excuse for failure” (Bierce), DESTINY
H. What whiskers might work with? (2 wds.), EGG WHITES
I. Like some documents and wheat, SHREDDED
J. System for measuring precious metals (2 wds., TROY WEIGHT
K. Pushover for a confidence man (2 wds.), EASY MARK
L. Make progress by slow increments (2 wds., INCH FORWARD
M. Groucho’s attire in the mirror scene of “Duck Soup”, NIGHTGOWN
N. Result that requires close scrutiny (2 wds.), PHOTO FINISH
O. Where Yeats yearned for a “bee-loud glade”, INNISFREE
P. Take part in a confab (3 wds.), CHEW THE FAT
Q. Good for whatever Mother Nature has in store (hyph., ALL-WEATHER
R. Dinner items traditionally ordered in a half rack or full rack, SPARERIBS
S. Visual lure for customers (2 wds.), SHOW WINDOW
T. Electromagnetic unit named for a Dane, OERSTED

The full paragraph of the quotation: His father was a professor of painting in Spain and Picasso wrote painting as other children wrote their a b c. He was born making drawings, not the drawings of a child but the drawings of a painter. His drawings were not of things seen but of things expressed, in short they were words for him and drawing always was his only way of talking and he talks a great deal.

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Click on image to enlarge.

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.