Défense d’Afficher (Object) (Post No Bills)

1939

Joseph Cornell

Associated Names
Joseph Cornell

Artist, American, 1903 - 1972

This is a photograph of a framed artwork featuring two figures and several cones. The artwork displays a dual representation of a dancing figure shown in both silhouette and detailed cutout form. On the left, set against a dark backdrop with a hint of text resembling the words "Défense d' Afficher," the silhouette figure is in black, exuding a shadow-like presence with one arm raised gracefully. It appears to be positioned within a rectangle bordered by a subtle red line. To the right, there is a more intricate depiction of the figure, dressed in a detailed period costume with ruffles and a wide-brimmed hat, also with one arm lifted in an elegant pose. Below these figures are four small, colorful cones in pink, white, red, and purple, arranged in a row against the background. The entire scene is encased in a dark wooden frame with a protective glass front.
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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Donahue, Los Angeles; (Richard L Feigen & Co., New York); Denise and Andrew Saul, New York; private collection, New York; (Vivian Horan Fine Art, New York); purchased 26 January 1999 by Robert Lehrman, Washington, DC; gift 2023 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1980

  • Joseph Cornell, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1980-1981; Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1981; Städtische Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf, 1981; Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, 1981; Musée de l'Art Moderne, Paris, 1981; Chicago Art Institute, 1982; Museum of Modern Art Catalogue, no. IV, repro.

2007

  • Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, 2007; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, 2007; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2007-2008; no. 40, repro.

2013

  • Joseph Cornell et les Surrealistes a New York, Musee des Beaux Arts de Lyon, Lyon FR; Fralin Museum of Art, Charlottesville, VA (as Joseph Cornell and Surrealism), 2013-2014; Musee des Beaux arts catalogue, no. 105, repro.

Bibliography

1977

  • 1977 Waldman, Dians. Joseph Cornell. New York, 1977: 34, fig. 2.

1996

  • Kornhauser, Elizabeth Mankin._ American Paintings Before 1945 in the Wadsworth Atheneum_. London, 1996: 273, n. 13.

2003

  • Hartigan, Lynda Roscoe, Richard Vine, and Robert Lehrman. Joseph Cornell: Shadowplay, Eterniday. Washington, 2003: 27, repro, 64-65.

2012

  • Aleluia, Catarina Casca. A Poetica do Site Specific. Lisbon, PRT, 2012: 147, fig. 4.

2018

  • McKinley, Mary Clare. Birds of a Feather: Joseph Cornell's Homage to Juan Gris. Exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2018: 26-27.

2023

  • McBride, Virginia. "Souvenirs in SIlver: Daguerrean Constructions by Joseph Cornell." Metropolitan Museum Journal vol. 58 (2023): 67, 73.

Inscriptions

verso: Joseph Cornell, “POST NO BILLS” 1939 ; also on verso: Annie St. Stel, dancer ca. 1885t

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