The Forest
1916
Artist, French, born Germany (Alsace), 1886 - 1966
Artwork overview
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Medium
painted wood
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 32.7 x 19.7 x 7.6 cm (12 7/8 x 7 3/4 x 3 in.)
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Accession
1977.20.1
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Paul Eluard [1895-1952], Paris;[1] purchased 1938 by Sir Roland A. Penrose [1900-1984], London;[2] purchased 3 May 1977 through (E.V. Thaw and Co., New York) by NGA.[3]
[1] Eluard probably acquired the relief from the artist, per Trinkett Clark in letters of 29 Janury 1979, in NGA curatorial files.
[2] Letter of 18 July 1978 from Sir Roland Penrose, in NGA curatorial files.
[3] Rosamond Bernier of New York, a friend of Sir Roland Penrose, was also involved in the sale to the NGA, per her letter of 3 December 1978, in NGA curatorial files.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1936
The International Surrealist Exhibition, New Burlington Galleries, London, 1936, no. 12.
1937
Surrealist Exhibition, University Arts Society, Cambridge, 1937, no. 3.
1939
Abstract and Concrete Art, Guggenheim Jeune, London, 1939, no. 2.
1958
Arp, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1958, no. 34, repro.
1969
Jean Arp (1886-1966): A Retrospective Exhibition, UCLA Art Galleries, Los Angeles; Des Moines Art Center; Museum of Fine Art, Dallas; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1968-1969, no. 21, repro.
1971
Surréalisme, Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux, 1971, no. 1.
1973
Pioneers of Modern Sculpture, Hayward Gallery, London, 1973, no. 56, repro.
1978
Aspects of Twentieth-Century Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978-1979, no. 69, repro.
Dada and Surrealism Reviewed, Hayward Gallery, London, 1978, no. 3.9.
1979
The Spirit of Surrealism, Cleveland Museum of Art, 1979, no. 6, repro.
The Planar Dimension: Europe 1912-1932, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1979, no. 40, repro.
1983
Arp: The Dada Reliefs, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1983, brochure, repro.
1987
Arp 1886-1966, traveling exh., 6 venues, 1986-1988, no. 48, repro. (shown only at last three venues: Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art).
1993
Surrealism: Revolution by Night, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1993, no. 2, repro., as Forest: Earthly Shapes.
1994
The Romantic Spirit in German Art 1790-1990, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh; Hayward Gallery, London; Haus der Kunst, Munich, 1994-1995, no. 182, repro. (shown only in Edinburgh and London).
2001
The Surrealist and the Photographer: Roland Penrose and Lee Miller, Dean Gallery, Edinburgh, 2001, no. 37, repro.
2005
Dada, Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2005-2006, no. 37, repro.
Dada, Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; National Gallery of Art, Washington; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2005 - 2006, no. 37.
2006
Merz-gebiete. Kurt Schwitters und seine Freunde [Merz areas. Kurt Schwitters and His Friends], Sprengel Museum, Hannover, 2006-2007, no. 6, repro.
2008
Art is Arp, Musée d'art moderne et contemporain, Strasbourg; Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, Remagen, 2008-2009, no. 75, repro.
2015
Marvelous Objects: Surrealist Sculpture from Paris to New York, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, 2015-2016, fig. 10.
2018
The Nature of Arp, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas; Collezione Peggy Guggenheim, Venice, 2018-2019, pl. 6.
Bibliography
1994
Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 22, repro.
2013
Carmean, Jr., E.A. "Seeing the Tree for the Forest." Art News (February 2013): 54-56, repro.
Wikidata ID
Q63854686