The Truth About Comets

Artist Dorothea Tanning (1910 - 2012)

Date1945

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions24 × 24 in. (61 × 61 cm)
Framed: 29 5/8 in. × 29 5/8 in. × 4 in.

ClassificationsPainting

Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2014.24

Signedl.r., in black paint: Dorothea Tanning / '45

Accession number 2014.24

On View

On view

Provenance(Julien Levy Gallery, New York, NY), 1948; purchased by Edward James [1907-1984], January 1948; by bequest to Edward James Foundation, West Dean, Sussex, England, 1984; (Christie’s, New York, NY), Modern Paintings and Drawings from The Edward James Collection, October 6, 1988; purchased by (Gallery of Surrealism, New York, NY), 1988; purchased by Svetlana Lucas, New York, NY, 2007; (Gallery of Surrealism, New York, NY); purchased by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2014
Label TextTwo brightly dressed mermaids appear unalarmed despite their displacement in this strange, snowy landscape. A staircase seems to lead to another world before transforming into barren tree branches. Through travel to Europe and involvement with an international circle of artists in the US, Dorothea Tanning engaged closely with Surrealism. The movement focused on dreams and the unconscious to rethink reality.

Dos sirenas vestidas con colores brillantes parecen despreocupadas a pesar de su desplazamiento en este extraño paisaje nevado. Una escalera parece conducir a otro mundo antes de transformarse en ramas de árbol secas. Gracias a sus viajes a Europa y a su participación en un círculo internacional de artistas en Estados Unidos, Dorothea Tanning se relacionó estrechamente con el surrealismo. Este movimiento se centraba en los sueños y el inconsciente para replantearse la realidad.