Lemures (Ghosts)

Date1944

Maker Andre Masson French, 1896-1987

Label TextAfter his first solo exhibition in 1923, André Masson was invited by André Breton to join the Surrealist group, and over time developed a keen interest in the use of the automatic gesture to create biomorphic abstractions. In the painting Lemures (Ghosts), the relationship to the human form can be seen-the image of breasts appears in the upper right, perhaps a fish tail in the upper left and a mouth at lower right-suggesting the "ghost" of a female presence, possibly a siren or mermaid, in the composition's free-flowing forms. His work would prove influential for the abstract expressionists, particularly Arshile Gorky's biomorphic abstractions of the 1940s and conceivably de Kooning's Woman series.

Object number87.30

ProvenanceExhibited Otto Seligman Gallery, Seattle; exhibited Buchholz Gallery, New York, NY

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Mark Tobey: Smashing Forms and Mark Tobey and Friends, Nov. 16, 2002 - Apr. 6, 2003. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, International Abstraction: Making Painting Real, May 2, 2003 - Feb. 29, 2004. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Modern in Europe: Featuring Selections from the Collection of Gladys and Sam Rubinstein, Nov. 5, 2004 - Apr. 17, 2005. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Abstract Visions, Aug. 6, 2021 - June 5, 2022 [on view Aug. 6, 2021 - Jan. 23, 2022].

Credit LineGift of the Estate of Mark Tobey

Dimensions6 x 8 1/8 in. (15.2 x 20.7 cm)

MediumOil on canvas