Pablo Picasso joined the French Communist Party in 1944.
Picasso entered the party during the final phase of the Second World War, when France was being liberated from German occupation. His decision reflected his opposition to fascism and his identification with the anti-fascist political left, though his relationship with communist politics was often described as personal or symbolic rather than deeply theoretical.
He remained a member for the rest of his life. Picasso attended the 1948 World Congress of Intellectuals in Defense of Peace in Poland and received the Soviet government’s Stalin Peace Prize in 1950. His political commitments also appeared in works such as Guernica and The Dream and Lie of Franco, which supported the Spanish Republican cause.
Picasso’s association with the party did not prevent disagreements. A 1953 portrait of Joseph Stalin drew criticism from party officials for failing to present Stalin in a sufficiently realistic manner. Even so, Picasso remained a loyal member until his death.