L'existentialiste (The Existentialist)

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L'existentialiste (The Existentialist)

ca. 1962

American, 1903-1972

"Images of dolls are found frequently in Cornell's collages and a doll is included in at least one box construction. The identical doll illustration seen here is used in at least two other collages of the early and mid-1960s. A small star constellation chart rests atop the doll's head. On the verso, the name 'Joyce' is written. Given the range of Cornell's associations it may refer to the writer James Joyce or Joyce Hunter. Hunter was a waitress and struggling actress whom Cornell befriended in 1962. She later betrayed their friendship and was mysteriously murdered in 1964. While the doll motif invokes youth and innocence, this collage's title equates a doll hovering above earth with the self-determined individuality of existentialism."

Collage

Frame h.: 16 1/4 in.

Frame w.: 13 1/4 in.

Gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation

93.112

Not currently on view

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