Lemures (Ghosts)

1944

French, 1896-1987

After 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.

Oil on canvas

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

Gift of the Estate of Mark Tobey

87.30

Provenance: Exhibited Otto Seligman Gallery, Seattle; exhibited Buchholz Gallery, New York, NY

Not currently on view

Resources

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].

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