The Farm

1921-1922

Joan Miró

Artist, Spanish, 1893 - 1983

Two angular, cream-white buildings flanking a central, stylized tree are surrounded by brown soil, small animals, and farmhouse objects like watering cans and buckets beneath a clear, azure-blue sky in this square landscape painting. We look straight onto the buildings and slightly down onto the earth in front of us. About a third of the way up the composition, the horizon is lined with trees and mountains in the deep distance. The long, spindly branches of the central tree nearly reach the top edge of the painting and abstracted, sickle-shaped leaves are silhouetted against the sky so no leaves overlap. The far edge of the whitewashed structure to our left is cropped. The façade is pierced by two small rectangular windows and an arched hatch at the top under a winch. The back end of a horse is visible through an open door at the bottom center. Horizontal bands in front of the building suggest furrows in plowed earth, and a single stalk of corn grows up into the scene, seeming close to us. A pen protected by netting stretches out in front of the second structure, to our right of center. That wood-frame building has a triangular peaked roof, and the left half is open, like a lean-to. A goat, rooster, birds, and several rabbits occupy the pen. Watering cans, buckets and pails, a hoe, newspaper, lizard, and snail are spaced around the buildings. A tiny stylized person, perhaps a baby, appears in the distance between the buildings near a well where a woman works. A covered wagon, a round mill, trees, and plants fill the rest of the space between the buildings. A disk-like moon hangs in the sky to the right of the tree. The artist signed and dated the lower left corner, "Miro. 1921-22."

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This could be a scene from a children’s book, but the story is a strange one. At first glance, everything looks ordinary. Crops spring from the ground, animals are in the shed, and a donkey turns a millstone to grind grain—but what about the newspaper under the watering can or the footprints that suddenly stop on the path? These puzzling pictograms of daily life on Joan Miró’s family farm in Montroig, Spain, invite us into a magical world. The dreamlike images attracted author Ernest Hemingway, the painting’s first owner, and did much to inspire the surrealist movement a few years later.

On View

East Building Upper Level, Gallery 415-B

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Mary Hemingway

  • Dimensions

    overall: 123.8 x 141.3 x 3.3 cm (48 3/4 x 55 5/8 x 1 5/16 in.)
    framed: 138.4 x 155.9 x 7.6 cm (54 1/2 x 61 3/8 x 3 in.)

  • Accession

    1987.18.1

More About this Artwork

Two angular, cream-white buildings flanking a central, stylized tree are surrounded by brown soil, small animals, and farmhouse objects like watering cans and buckets beneath a clear, azure-blue sky in this square landscape painting. We look straight onto the buildings and slightly down onto the earth in front of us. About a third of the way up the composition, the horizon is lined with trees and mountains in the deep distance. The long, spindly branches of the central tree nearly reach the top edge of the painting and abstracted, sickle-shaped leaves are silhouetted against the sky so no leaves overlap. The far edge of the whitewashed structure to our left is cropped. The façade is pierced by two small rectangular windows and an arched hatch at the top under a winch. The back end of a horse is visible through an open door at the bottom center. Horizontal bands in front of the building suggest furrows in plowed earth, and a single stalk of corn grows up into the scene, seeming close to us. A pen protected by netting stretches out in front of the second structure, to our right of center. That wood-frame building has a triangular peaked roof, and the left half is open, like a lean-to. A goat, rooster, birds, and several rabbits occupy the pen. Watering cans, buckets and pails, a hoe, newspaper, lizard, and snail are spaced around the buildings. A tiny stylized person, perhaps a baby, appears in the distance between the buildings near a well where a woman works. A covered wagon, a round mill, trees, and plants fill the rest of the space between the buildings. A disk-like moon hangs in the sky to the right of the tree. The artist signed and dated the lower left corner, "Miro. 1921-22."

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Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist; on consignment 1 June 1922 to possibly spring 1924 to (Léonce Rosenberg, Galerie L'Effort Moderne, Paris); possibly on consignment to (Jacques Viot, Galerie Pierre, Paris); possibly Evan Shipman, Paris, by June 1925; Hadley [1891-1979] and Ernest [1899-1961] Hemingway, Paris, by 9 November 1925;[1] Hadley Richardson Hemingway [later Mrs. Paul Scott Mowrer], Paris and Chicago, from c. October-November 1926;[2] Ernest Hemingway's fourth wife, Mary Welsh Hemingway [1908-1986], New York;[3] bequest 1987 to NGA.
[1] Provenance from Carolyn Lanchner, Joan Miró, Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1993: no. 22. Although Evan Shipman's name is included here in the provenance, it is not certain that he ever actually owned the painting. Ernest Hemingway wrote in a 1934 article that Shipman made Galerie Pierre put a price on the painting and agree to sell it to him (Shipman), but that Shipman reconsidered the same day, thought Hemingway should have the painting, and the two rolled dice for it. Hemingway won, and purchased the painting from Galerie Pierre by paying for it in monthly installments. (See Cahiers d'Art 1-4[1934]: 32.) It is probable that Galerie Pierre published the painting as being owned by Shipman in the catalogue of the 1925 exhibition to indicate that it was not for sale. (See notes on the provenance prepared in 2004 by NGA intern Jennifer Sudul, in NGA curatorial files.)
[2] Hadley and Ernest divided their possessions shortly before they were officially divorced in December 1926, and Ernest delivered the painting to Hadley (Carlos Baker, Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story, New York, 1969: 177, 593 note). Hadley married Paul Mowrer in 1933 and they moved from Paris to Chicago the following year, taking the painting with them. The Mowrers lent the painting to the exhibition A Century of Progress at the Art Institute of Chicago, and it was returned to them after the closing on 1 November 1934 (e-mail of 30 August 2012 from Ryerson Archives, Art Institute of Chicago, in NGA curatorial files). Around this time, Ernest Hemingway, then resident in Key West, Florida, asked Hadley to lend him the painting for a time, to which she apparently agreed (Jack Hemingway, Misadventures of a Fly Fisherman: My Life With and Without Papa, Dallas, 1986: 299). The painting was then lent by Hemingway to a Miró exhibition at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York that opened 10 January 1935, and closed the next month on 9 February. Matisse notified Hemingway on 18 February 1935 that the painting was being shipped to him that day (telegram, Pierre Matisse to Ernest Hemingway, Incoming Correspondence Series, folder: Matisse, Pierre, Ernest Hemingway Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Boston, Massachusetts; kindly brought to NGA's attention by Alex Fernández de Castro). Hemingway never returned the painting to Hadley; he moved to Havanna, Cuba, in 1939/1940, and the painting remained in his possession, except for loans he made to various exhibitions, until his death in 1961. As Hadley told Alice Sokoloff, "Everyone Ernest married after me thought it [the Miró painting] belonged to her." See Gioia Diliberto, Paris Without End: The True Story of Hemingway's First Wife, New York, 2011: 272, 317 note. This was true of Hemingway's fourth wife, Mary Welsh.
[3] After Hemingway's death, Hadley and Mary reached an agreement about the painting out of court, through their lawyers, in which Mary paid Hadley in return for Hadley giving up her claims to the painting (memo to the file by NGA attorney, recording a phone conversation with Mary Hemingway's attorney, 21 August 1981, copy in NGA curatorial files).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1922

  • Salon d'Automne, Paris, 1922, no. 1754.

1923

  • Exhibition of paintings and drawings by Joan Miró and Francesc Domingo, Au Caméléon, Paris, May 1923.

  • One-day group exhibition on the occasion of A. Schneeberger's lecture "The Evolution of Catalan Poetry," Au Caméléon, Paris, 9 April 1923.

  • One-day exhibition, Le Jockey (café in Montparnasse), Paris, 1923 (according to the artist, quoted in Joan Miró, Ceci est la couleur de mes rêves: entretiens avec Georges Raillard, Paris, 1977: 53).

1925

  • Exposition Joan Miró, Galerie Pierre, Paris, 1925, no. 1.

1934

  • A Century of Progress Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, Art Institute of Chicago, 1934, no. 355.

1935

  • Joan Miró, 1933-1934: Paintings, Tempera, Pastels, Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1935, no. 1.

1948

  • Picasso Gris Miro. The Spanish Masters of Twentieth Century Painting, San Francisco Museum of Art; Portland Art Museum, 1948.

1959

  • Joan Miró, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1959, unnumbered catalogue, repro. (shown only in New York).

1960

  • Loan to display with permanent collection, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1960-1962.

1964

  • Joan Miró, Tate Gallery, London; Kunsthaus, Zurich, 1964, no. 28, repro.

1978

  • Aspects of Twentieth-Century Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978-1979, no. 77, repro. (shown May-September 1978).

1980

  • Miró: Selected Paintings, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, 1980, no. 9, repro. (shown only in Washington).

1983

  • Joan Miró: anys 20: mutacio de la realitat: 90e aniversari de Joan Miro [Joan Miró: Años 20, Mutación de la realidad, 90o Aniversario de Joan Miró], Fundacio Joan Miró, Barcelona; Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo, Madrid, 1983, not in Barcelona catalogue, repro. in Madrid catalogue.

1986

  • Joan Miró: A Retrospective, Kunsthaus Zurich; Kunsthalle Düsseldorf; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1986-1987, no. 20 (German catalogue), no. 14 (English catalogue), repro.

1987

  • Cinco Siglos de Arte Español: El Siglo de Picasso, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, 1987-1988, no. 22 (French catalogue), no. 20 (Spanish catalogue), repro.

1990

  • Jean Miró: Rétrospective de l'oeuvre paint, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul-de Vence, France, 1990, no. 12, repro.

1993

  • Joan Miró: 1893-1993 and Joan Miró, Fundacio Joan Miró, Barcelona; Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1993-1994, no. 47 (Spanish catalogue), no. 22 (English catalogue), repro.

1998

  • Joan Miró, Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark, 1998-1999, no. 6, repro.

2001

  • Paris-Barcelone, de Gaudi à Miró, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris; Museu Picasso, Barcelona, 2001-2002, unnumbered catalogue, repro. (French catalogue), unnumbered catalogue, fig. 4 (Spanish catalogue).

2002

  • Joan Miró. Snail Woman Flower Star, Stiftung museum kunst palast, Düsseldorf, 2002, no. 5, repro.

2004

  • Joan Miró 1917-1934: La Naissance du Monde [Joan Miró 1917-1934: The Birth of the World], Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 2004, no. 19, repro.

2006

  • Barcelona & Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miró, Dalí, The Cleveland Museum of Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2006-2007, no. 7.25, fig. 6.

2011

  • Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape, Tate, London; Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2011-2012, no. 17, repro.

2014

  • Miró: From Earth to Sky, Albertina, Vienna, 2014-2015, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

2015

  • Joan Miro: Wandbilder / Weltenbilder, Kunsthaus Zürich; Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, 2015-2016, no. 1, repro.

2018

  • Miró, The Colour of My Dreams, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, 2018-2019, no. 8, repro.

Bibliography

1989

  • Kramer, Hilton. "Modern Art at the National Gallery." The New Criterion 7, no. 8 (April 1989): 3.

1991

  • Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 314, color repro.

1992

  • National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 257, repro.

  • Robert Hughes. Barcelona. New York, 1992: 22-23; 24-25, 27, 52.

1993

  • Mink, Janis. Joan Miró, 1893-1983. Cologne, 1993, 30-31, repro. 30.

1997

  • Joan Miró: Campesino Catalán con Guitarra, 1924. Exh. cat. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 1997-1998: 41, no. 17, repro.

1999

  • Dupin, Jacques and Ariane Lelong-Mainaud. Joan Miro. Catalogue raisonné. Paintings. 6 vols. Paris, 1999-2006:I:74-75, repro.

2001

  • Southgate, M. Therese. The Art of JAMA II: Covers and Essays from The Journal of the American Medical Association. Chicago, 2001: 30-31, color repro.

2004

  • Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 422-423, no. 354, color repro.

2008

  • Miró: Earth. Exh. cat. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 2008: 38-40, fig. 6.

2011

  • Whitfield, Sarah. "Exhibitions: Joan Miró (London, Barcelona and Washington)." The Burlington Magazine 53, no. 1301 (August 2011): cover, 549, color fig. 21.

2012

  • Conoway, James. "Getting the Picture." Washingtonian 47, no. 8 (May 2012): 80-83, color repro.

  • Bryant, Eric. "Datebook, Washington DC: Veiled Politics." Art + Auction 35, no. 9 (May 2012): 48, color repro.

  • Wilkin, Karen. "Joan Miró in Washington." The New Criterion 30, no. 10 (June 2012): 44.

  • Johnson, Ken. "Filtering Miro's Work Through a Political Sieve." New York Times 161, no. 52,855 (August 3, 2012): C26, color repro.

2015

  • Fernández de Castro, Alex. La masía, un Miró para Mrs. Hemingway. València, 2015.

Inscriptions

lower left: Miro. / 1921-22.

Wikidata ID

Q1192436

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