Drift No.2

1936

American, 1913-1990

Roberts was a Seattle-based painter whose work shows the extent to which Surrealism penetrated the consciousness of American artists. Clearly in the cool, fluid style of Salvador Dali or Yves Tanguy, this work also sets its strange stage on a beach, a favored locale for surrealists who sought to push imagery past the boundaries of reason, and thus to the edge of the continent.

Tempera on board

25 1/2 x 20 5/8 in. (64.8 x 52.4 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

37.103

Provenance: The artist; purchased by the Seattle Art Museum, January 1937

Photo: Scott Leen

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, One-person exhibition, December 9, 1936-January 9, 1937

Seattle, Washington, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Art of the Thirties: The Pacific Northwest, April 1-30, 1972 [Circuit to: Portland, Oregon, Portland Art Museum, May 24-June 25, 1972]

New Brunswick, New Jersey, Rutgers University Art Gallery, Surrealism and American Art 1931-1947, March 6-April 24, 1977

Published ReferencesKingsbury, Martha. Art of the Thirties: The Pacific Northwest. Exh. cat. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1972. P. 26, cat. no. 34, ill. p. 51

Wechsler, Jeffrey. Surrealism and American Art 1931-1947. Exh. cat. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Art Gallery, 1977. P. 32, cat. no. 127, ill. p. 104

Kangas, Matthew, "Camille Patha: Geography of Desire", Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, 2007, pp. 30

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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