Francis Picabia was born in Paris in 1879 He was studied at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Paris from 1895 to 1897. In 1903 he began exhibiting works at the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Indépendants, Paris. His first solo show was held at the Galerie Haussmann, Paris (1905).

Picabia became a friend of Guillaume Apollinaire and Marcel Duchamp and associated with the Puteaux group (1911-1912). He participated in the 1913 Armory Show, visiting New York on this occasion and frequenting avant-garde circles. Alfred Stieglitz gave him a solo exhibition at his gallery '291' that same year. In March 1949, a retrospective of his work was held at the Galerie René Drouin in Paris.

Picabia died in November 1953, in Paris. Solo exhibitions and retrospectives followed throughout the world, including: Kunsthalle Bern (1962), The Solomon R. Guggenheim, New York (1970) and Musée des Beaux Arts, Nimes (1986). The most recent major exhibition was held at the Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2003).