Object Details
Artist
Dorothea Tanning, born Galesburg, IL 1910-died New York City 2012
Sitter
Dorothea Tanning
Dorothea Tanning
Exhibition Label
The breathless, fleeing girl with clothing in flames epitomizes Tanning’s surreal narratives. The ambiguity of the half-clothed figure suggests a state of metamorphosis. Her forward thrust is thwarted by a brick wall that swallows her forearms. As in a nightmare. Tanning had fled Paris on the brink of war in 1939, and she returned in 1949 to a devastated city. Despite the possible biographical connection, the meaning of this image is unclear because, as the artist explained, “My work is about the enigmatic, about leaving the door open to imagination.”
Graphic Masters II: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2009
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Gibson Fahnestock
Date
1949
Object number
1995.10
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Drawing
Medium
pencil and colored pencil on paper
Dimensions
sheet and image: 13 7/8 x 9 7/8 in. (35.4 x 25.1 cm)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Graphic Arts
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Disaster\fire
Occupation\art\painter
Occupation\art\sculptor
Occupation\art\designer
Occupation\art\printmaker
Portrait female\self-portrait
Portrait female\full length
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_1995.10