Picasso star of new Chicago institute wing

CHICAGO, May 10 (UPI) -- The works of famed Spanish painter Pablo Picasso will be prevalent in the new Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago, an art curator says.

Douglas Druick, who served as the curator for the wing's European modern art collection along with Stephanie D'Alessandro, said the third flood exhibit in the Art Institute wing will begin and end with Picasso, the Chicago Sun-Times said Sunday.

"Leading the way into the European modern art galleries on the third level is 'The Old Guitarist,' Picasso's 1903 Blue Period painting," Druick said.

"This work kicks off the century, and Picasso's career. We then move on to include all the developments in Cubism. The final work is a return to Picasso with his 1959 canvas 'Nude Under a Pine Tree.'"

The Modern Wing of the institute will officially open on Saturday and the 264,000-square-foot, $300 million addition will increase the institute's overall size by one-third, the Sun-Times said.