Graphic artist Lajos Szalay (1909–1995) had been an admirer of Picasso ever since his trip to Paris in 1930. Szalay travelled to Paris again in 1946, where he spent two years this time. During this period, both Picasso and Szalay were frequent visitors to the Bar Vert. They never spoke to each other at the bar, but both of their drawings were published in the left-wing literary publication Les Lettres françaises, which is how Picasso came to know Szalay’s work. After Paris, Szalay settled in Buenos Aires, where his art reached its full potential. During his visit to Buenos Aires, Picasso praised the artist with these words: “The world’s next greatest graphic artist is likely to be a Hungarian named Lajos Szalay.”