Joseph Cornell: A New Surrealism, Works from the 1930's

Joseph Cornell: A New Surrealism, Works from the 1930’s

Turkish Man, 1933

Joseph Cornell: A New Surrealism, Works from the 1930’s

September 10–October 31, 2014

Van Doren Waxter is pleased to present Joseph Cornell: A New Surrealism, Works from the 1930’s. The solo exhibition of early works by Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) will be on view from September 10 – October 31.

The exhibition features small-scale collages of the 1930's, Joseph Cornell's first forays into the found object assemblages for which he became known. Other exhibition highlights include box compositions, whimsical pocket-sized pill box creations from Cornell’s initial experimentation with objects and containers that lead to the shadow box. These works give an intimate look into the imaginative vision of this uniquely self-taught American surreal-ist. Cornell combines and modifies his collected souvenirs into compositions that elevate individual components into artifacts, unified works of unearthly magic and mystery.

Cornell’s idiosyncratic method developed as he visited art galleries and second-hand book sellers in Manhattan’s mercantile district, where he acquired a collection of materials and ephemera. His early collections of memorabilia and curiosities were integral to his creative process. The cultivated and curated collections, which Cornell would use to compose his assemblages, drew from his eclectic interests that ranged from literature, music and dance, maps and science, to a fascination with Hollywood and Vaudeville and to the spiritual theo-ries of Christian Science, which the artist first embraced in the 1920’s. Cornell is widely characterized as reclusive, as he seldom ventured far from the Utopia Parkway, Queens, New York home he shared with his mother and disabled brother. From home Cornell engaged with the New York gallery world and in extensive dialogues and exchanges with his contemporaries, showing an appreciation for foreign places and encounters through his work and correspondence.

Cornell's work debuted in the 1932 exhibition Surréalisme at the Julien Levy Gallery, where he had first discovered Surrealist art and literature. That same year marked the first of three solo shows with the gallery. Cornell's work was included in the historic 1936 exhibition Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism at the Museum of Modern Art and retrospective exhibitions at the Pasadena Art Museum (1967) and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (1967). Cornell died in 1972.

Untitled, 1930's, collage, 10 x 7 1/2 inches (25.4 x 19.1 cm), JCo 116, 1M-11B (NFIC)

Untitled, 1930'scollage10 1/8 x 7 1/2 inches (25.7 x 19.1 cm)JCo 107, 1M-11A (NCIC)

Exhibition History:

Mestres del Collage: de Picasso a Rauschenberg, Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain (Nov., 2005-Feb., 2006). Catalogue p. 155 (illustrated in color).

Metamorphosis Victorianus: Modern Collage, Victorian Engravings & Nostalgia, Ubu Gallery, New York, New York (Oct. 20, 2009-Jan. 30, 2010).

Joseph Cornell and Surrealism in New York, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon, France (Oct. 18, 2013-Feb. 10, 2014). Catalogue no. 49, p. 96 (illustrated). Travelled to The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (Mar. 7-Jun. 8, 2014).

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Untitled (Le Bouvier de l'atlas de Bayer), c. 1934collage9 x 7 inches (22.9 x 17.8 cm)JCo 109, 1M-4C (MLVX)

Exhbition History:

Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. (Nov. 17, 2006-Feb. 19, 2007). Catalogue pl. 109, p. 254 (illustrat-ed). Travelled to Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts (Apr. 28-Sep. 19, 2007), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California (Oct., 2007-Jan., 2008).


Drawing Surrealism: 1915-1945, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California (Oct. 21, 2012-Jan. 6, 2013). Travelled to The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, New York (Jan. 25-May 12, 2013).


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Untitled, 1930'scollage10 1/8 x 7 1/2 inches (25.7 x 19.1 cm)JCo 104, 1M-6C (MHIM)

Exhibition History:

Joseph Cornell (Exhibition of Collages, 1930), Shigeru Yokota Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (Sep. 17- Oct. 25, 1996). Catalogue (illustrated).

Surrealism USA, National Academy Museum, New York, New York (Feb.-May, 2005). Catalogue pl. 2, p. 76 (illustrated). Travelled to Phoenix Art Museum, Phoe-nix, Arizona (Jun.-Sep., 2005).



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Untitled, 1930'scollage9 1/2 x 7 inches (24.1 x 17.8 cm)JCo 112, 1M-4B (MJVX)

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Untitled, 1930'scollage10 x 7 1/2 inches (25.4 x 19.1 cm)JCo 105, 1M-6F (MYIM)

Exhibition History:




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Untitled, 1933paper collage and gouache on paper10 1/8 x 7 1/2 inches (25.7 x 19.1 cm)JCo 111, 1M-1B (MQCI)

Exhibition History:

Joseph Cornell: Collages, 1931-1972, Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, New York (May–Jun., 1978). Catalogue no. 5, p.32 (illustrated).



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Untitled, 1930'scollage10 1/8 x 7 1/2 inches (25.7 x 19.1 cm)JCo 110, 1M-10H (NVXL)

Exhibition History:

Joseph Cornell: Collages, 1931-1972, Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, New York (May–Jun., 1978). Catalogue no. 16, p.37 (illustrated).

A Transatlantic Avant-Garde: American Artists in Paris, 1918-1939, Musée d’Art Americain, Giverny, France (Aug. 31-Nov. 30, 2003). Catalogue no. 131, p. 173 (illus-trated in color). Travelled to Tacoma Museum of Art, Tacoma, Washington (Dec. 18, 2003-Mar. 28, 2004), Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (Apr. 17-Jun. 27, 2004).

Surrealism USA, National Academy Museum, New York, New York (Feb.-May, 2005). Catalogue pl. 4, p. 77 (illustrated). Travelled to Phoenix Art Museum, Phoe-nix, Arizona (Jun.-Sep., 2005).


Drawing Surrealism: 1915-1945, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California (Oct. 21, 2012-Jan. 6, 2013). Catalogue p. 135 (illustrated). Travelled to The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, New York (Jan. 25-May 12, 2013).


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Untitled, 1930'scollage10 1/8 x 7 1/2 inches (25.7 x 19.1 cm)JCo 115, 1M-10G (NRXL)

Exhibition History:



Revisioning History, Senior & Shopmaker Gallery, New York, New York (Oct. 4-Nov. 27, 2013).

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Untitled, 1930scollage10 1/8 x 7 3/8 inches (27.6 x 18.7 cm)JCo 131

Exhibition History:

Andromeda Hotel: The Work of Joseph Cornell, Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York (Jun. 25-Sep. 17, 2006).


Alexander the Great: The Iolas Gallery 1955-1987, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, New York (Mar. 6-Apr. 26, 2014).

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Noel, 1930'scollage3 1/2 x 2 7/16 inches (8.9 x 6.2 cm)JCo 128

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Turkish Man, c. 1933collage box12 3/4 x 9 1/8 x 3 inches (32.4 x 23.2 x 7.6 cm)JCo 118, LC68

verso

Exhibition History:

Joseph Cornell: Objects & Small Boxes, American Dovecote, New York, New York (Oct. 1977).

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Turkish Man, c. 1933collage box10 3/4 x 8 x 3 1/4 inches (27.3 x 20.3 x 8.3 cm)JCo 117, LC96

verso

Exhibition History:

Joseph Cornell, James Corcoran Gallery, Los Angeles, California (Feb., 1978).26.

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Untitled (Game Box),c. 1939mixed media box construction7/8 x 4 1/8 x 5 1/8 in.2.2 x 10.5 x 13 cmJCo 125

Exhibition History:

Joseph Cornell, Allan Stone Gallery, New York, New York (Oct. 30-Dec. 20, 2002).

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Left:Frog (Assemblage in painted pill box), 1933box constructionDiameter: 1 1/4 inches (3.2 cm)JCo 125

Exhibition History:

Joseph Cornell, Exhibition of Objects, Julian Levy Gallery, New York, New York (1940).

Group Exhibition, Noah Goldowsky Gallery, New York, New York (1977).

Dada & Surrealist Objects, Blain Di Donna, New York, New York (Oct. 24-Dec. 13, 2013).

Right:Untitled (Assemblage in painted pill box), 1933box constructionDiameter: 1 1/4 inches (3.2 cm)JCo 127

Exhibition History:

Joseph Cornell, Exhibition of Objects, Julian Levy Gallery, New York, New York (1940).

Group Exhibition, Noah Goldowsky Gallery, New York, New York (1977).


Bottom:Earrings for Ondine (Assemblage in painted pill box), 1939box constructionDiameter: 1 1/4 inches (3.2 cm)JCo 126

Exhibition History:


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Untitled, 1930'scollage9 x 6 1/4 inches (22.9 x 15.9 cm)JCo 113, 1M-4D (MNVX)

Exhibition History:

Joseph Cornell (Exhibition of Collages, 1930), Shigeru Yokota Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (Sep. 17- Oct. 25, 1996). Catalogue (illustrated).


Surrealismo, Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Aug. 20-Oct. 28, 2001). Cata-logue (illustrated).

Surrealism USA, National Academy Museum, New York, New York (Feb.-May, 2005). Catalogue pl. 3, p. 77 (illustrated in color). Travelled to Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona (Jun.-Sep., 2005).

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À Serge Lifar en Hommage, 1936collage3 1/8 x 4 1/16 inches (7.9 x 10.3 cm)JCo 129

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Untitled, 1930'scollage10 1/8 x 7 1/2 inches (25.7 x 19.1 cm)JCo 120, 1M-10J (NZXL)

Exhibition History:

Joseph Cornell: Collages, 1931-1972, Leo Castelli Gallery, New York (May–Jun., 1978). Catalogue no. 29, p.44 (illustrated).



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Untitled, 1930'scollage10 1/8 x 7 1/2 inches (25.7 x 19.1 cm)JCo 106, 1M-6G (MVIM)

Exhibition History:




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Untitled, 1933collage9 7/8 x 7 1/4 inches (25.1 x 18.4 cm)JCo 103, 1M-1A (MKCI)

Exhibition History:

Joseph Cornell: Collages, 1931-1972, Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, New York (May–Jun.,1978). Catalogue no. 7, p.33 (illustrated).

Surrealismo, Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Aug. 20-Oct. 28, 2001). Cata-logue (illustrated).

Mestres del Collage: de Picasso a Rauschenberg, Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain (Nov.,2005-Feb., 2006). Catalogue p. 152 (illustrated in color).



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Untitled, 1930scollage9 7/8 x 7 3/8 inches (25.1 x 18.7 cm)JCo 132

Exhibition History:

Joseph Cornell: Collages, 1931-1972, Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, New York (May 6-Jun. 3, 1978).

A Transatlantic Avant-Garde: American Artists in Paris, 1918-1939, Musée d’Art Americain, Giverny, France (Aug. 31-Nov. 30, 2003). Travelled to Tacoma Museum of Art, Tacoma, Washington (Dec. 18, 2003-Mar. 28, 2004), Terra Museum of Ameri-can Art, Chicago, Illinois (Apr. 17-Jun. 27, 2004).


Alexander the Great: The Iolas Gallery 1955-1987, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, New York (Mar. 6-Apr. 26, 2014).

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Untitled, 1930'scollage10 x 7 1/2 inches (25.4 x 19.1 cm)JCo 114, 1M-6B (MBIM)

Exhibition History:



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Untitled, 1930'scollage10 x 7 1/2 inches (25.4 x 19.1 cm)JCo 116, 1M-11B (NFIC)

Exhibition History:



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Untitled, 1930'scollage10 x 7 1/2 inches (25.4 x 19.1 cm)JCo 108, 1M-11G (NUIC)

Exhibition History:

Joseph Cornell: Collages, 1931-1972, Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, New York (May–Jun., 1978). Catalogue.




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Biography:

Joseph Cornell was born in Nyack, NY. The oldest of 4 children and the son of a suc-cessful menswear textile designer, Cornell's family lived comfortably until circum-stances after the death of his father in 1917 drastically changed the family’s means. That same year, Cornell entered Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, although he would not graduate.

Cornell began his professional career as a textile salesman in Manhattan, and later a textile designer like his father. As Cornell canvassed the streets of Manhattan, he began to acquire his first collections of memorabilia and curiosities, perusing the city's shops, theaters, galleries and booksellers. These cultivated and curated collec-tions, which he would use to compose his assemblages, drew from Cornell's eclectic interests in literature, music and dance, maps and science, to a fascination with Hol-lywood and Vaudeville and to the spiritual theories of Christian Science. Cornell is widely characterized as reclusive, as he seldom ventured far from the Utopia Park-way, Queens, New York home he shared with his mother and disabled brother. From home Cornell did engage with the New York gallery world and in extensive dialogues and exchanges with his contemporaries, showing an appreciation for foreign places and encounters through his work and correspondence.

Cornell's work debuted in the 1932 exhibition Surréalisme at the Julien Levy Gal-lery, where he had first discovered Surrealist art and literature. That same year marked the first of three solo shows with the gallery. Cornell's work was included in the historic 1936 exhibition Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism at the Museum of Modern Art and retrospective exhibitions at the Pasadena Art Museum (1967) and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (1967). Cornell died in 1972.

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Plates:

pg. 5 The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation

pg. 7 Private Collection, USA





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pg. 21 Private Collection, New York

pg. 23 Collection of Tim Baum, New York



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pg. 35 Collection of Tim Baum, New York





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Joseph Cornell:A New Surrealism, Works from the 1930’sSeptember 10 – October 31, 2014

Edited by Dorsey Waxter, Sophia Jackson, Nick NaberDesigned by Nick NaberArtwork Photography by Ronald Amstuz, Ulises Beato, Charles Benton

With special thanks to James Corcoran Gallery and Tracy Lew, Allan Stone Collec-tion, Tim Baum, Ubu Gallery, and Lauren and Daniel Long.

Van Doren Waxter 23 East 73rd StreetNew York, NY 10021tel: 212 444 0444fax: 212 445 0442email: [email protected]

Van Doren WaxterAll rights reserved. No Part of the contents of this catalogue may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.

Van Doren Waxter23 East 73rd Street | New York, NY | 10021

tel: 212 444 0444 | fax: 212 445 [email protected] | www.vandorenwaxter.com

Joseph Cornell: A New Surrealism, Works from the 1930's

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