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Open 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights
Through September 5
Exhibitions & Events
America’s 250th

Celebrating American art and artists
Art & Artists
Open Call

Artists Reimagining the Collection
Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Untitled (Yellow Sand Tray with Starfish)

c. 1952

Joseph Cornell

Associated Names

Joseph Cornell

Artist, American, 1903 - 1972

The image displays various shapes and lines in a wooden frame. A blue line intersects horizontally and vertically, dividing the piece into four sections. Inside the frame are textured layers in earthy tones resembling a sandy beach with a desert-like backdrop. A starfish and a shell are near the center. Lines and patches at the bottom suggest movement like waves.

This object’s media is not available for download. Contact us about image usage.

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Artwork overview

Medium

box construction
Credit Line

Collection of Robert and Aimee Lehrman, Washington, D.C., in honor of Isabelle Scott and Heidi Berry
Dimensions

overall: 2.86 × 36.51 × 18.42 cm (1 1/8 × 14 3/8 × 7 1/4 in.)
Accession Number

2023.124.23

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Pace Gallery, New York); purchased 18 May 1989 by Robert Lehrman, Washington, DC.

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, 189, repro.

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