Summer art: De Young Museum hosting major Picasso collection

By the time summer officially kicks off June 21, it's a safe bet that the Bay Area will already have had its share of sweltering days. And what better place to escape the heat than the cool, sleek interior of one of the region's many museums and galleries?

Although two of the summer's hottest shows are already under way ("The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso and the Parisian Avant-Garde," which opened May 21 at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and "Gertrude Stein: Five Stories," at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco) there's plenty more to catch, including an eagerly anticipated Picasso exhibit opening June 11 at the de Young Museum in San Francisco.

And, as always, it's worth mentioning the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art's always intriguing annual show of works from the graduate program of the San Jose State University School of Fine Arts program which runs July 2 through Sept. 10 (for details, go to www.sjica.org ).

But her are five shows that will really help you weather the season:

"Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris": The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which operate San Francisco's de Young and Legion of Honor museums, struck cultural gold when they partnered with France's Musée d' Orsay for the pair of Impressionist exhibits that dazzled crowds last year. This summer, the focus is on Pablo Picasso, the Spanish painter whose creativity and artistic innovation made a profound mark on modern art. The exhibition will feature 150 paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings from every phase of the artist's career, and is part of a world tour organized by the Musée National Picasso, Paris, which is undergoing extensive renovation. Tickets went on sale May 11, so be sure to snag yours; the de Young is the show's final North American venue. The show runs June 11-Oct. 9. $10-$25 and free for members and children ages 5 and younger, 415-750-3600, www.deyoungmuseum.org .

"The Bible Illuminated: R. Crumb's Book of Genesis": Weakness. Deception. Catastrophe. Lust. The Bible's Book of Genesis was a ripe source of inspiration for underground comics guru R. Crumb, who has built a career out of crafting humorous, sometimes ribald depictions of everyday foibles and triumphs. Published to acclaim in 2009, Crumb's illustrations of the first book of the Bible go on display June 23 at the San Jose Museum of Art. June 23 through Sept. 25. $5-$8 and free for members and children ages 6 and younger. 408-271-6840, www.SanJoseMuseumofArt.org .

San Jose Museum of Art Lunchtime Lectures 4/6/11 | San Jose Metblogs

The free Lunchtime Lecture series takes place on the first Wednesday of the month beginning at noon in the Charlotte Wendel Education Center.

Bring your lunch or purchase from the Museum’s Cafe.

This Wednesday (4/6/11) Santhi Kavuri-Bauer , who teaches modern and contemporary Asian art history at San Francisco State University, will look at modern Indian art from the 1900s to the 1980s in the context of Indian history, culture, and politics in her talk, “A Historical Survey of Indian Modern Art.”

Visit the exhibition Roots in the Air, Branches Below: Modern and Contemporary Art from India (for which regular Museum admission applies).

Blobjects & beyond, the new fluidity in design

Selections, the San Jose Museum of Art permanent collection

Compassion and protest, recent social and political art from the Eli Broad Family Foundation collection : June 1-August 25, 1991, San Jose Museum of Art

Into the 21st century, selections from the permanent collection, San Jose Museum of Art, May 23-September 12, 1999

American art 1940-1965, traditions reconsidered : selections from the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art : December 2 1995-March 30, 1997, San Jose Museum of Art