Joseph H. Hazen

American, 1898 - 1994

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At least two surreal, imaginary creatures are surrounded by rubbed and blended orbs of coral orange, dandelion yellow, cobalt blue, emerald green, black, gray, and pastel green and pink in this abstracted painting. The larger being is in the center of the canvas and nearly reaches the top edge. Its triangular, oblong head has a tiny face with two eyes, a nose, and a dash for a mouth at the top corner. A long, sinuous neck reaches halfway down the composition to join the oval-shaped body, which has two thick arms with small hands. A V-shaped form at the center of the body, like folded wings, and a rounded bottom are difficult to interpret. What may be legs are fragmented fields of flat cardinal red, black, yellow, and green. The second creature is about a third the height of the first. Tucked in the lower right corner of the canvas, this critter has a tiny bird-like head, a bulbous body, and long legs. A second bird with a short beak and a crest like a rooster appears to be superimposed upside down on the other bird, so the clawed feet point upward. A six-pointed star painted in black with two red triangles and one yellow triangle at its center is over the birds. A tall shape made of black circles like a tower of bubbles is to the left. The upper corners of the painting are rubbed with mostly gray and black, and patches of color create a loose band across the composition about a third of the way down the canvas. Some areas, like the two birds in the lower right, might be drawn directly onto the textured canvas. The artist signed the lower right corner, “Miró.”
Joan Miró, The Shooting Star, 1938, oil on canvas, Gift of Joseph H. Hazen, 1970.36.1

The Shooting Star

Joan Miró · 1938 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1970.36.1

Bibliography

1994

  • The New York Times 16 November 1994 [obituary]

1995

  • Paintings from the Collection of Joseph H. Hazen, Sotheby's New York, 8 November 1995