Max Ernst life and biography

Maximilian Ernst, also known as Max Ernst born April 2, 1891 in Brühl, Germany - died April 1, 1976 in Paris, France was a French artist painter.

The plastic bird-cages gummed onto the canvases of the 1950s and 1960s followed the dense forest that somehow came to an unexpected conclusion in Max Ernst's version of The Temptation of St. Anthony that he made for MGM. Before that there had been so many Max Ernsts. The frottages, made like brass rubbings, the palette-knife swirls like exotic flowers and the marbling of paint to compose skyscapes and seascapes and earth-scapes, the ultimate in narrative collages epitomised in the "100 Têtes." And the landmark pictures: "The Airplane Traps," "The Bride of the Wind" and "Loplop"--so many undreamt of magic visions. There are even paintings, the dates of which the artist himself could not recall, which spliced together the imagery of Chagall and Campendonk. And of course there were the sculptures, bronzes which, unlike those of Magritte, were original inventions and not culled from imagery in his own pictures.

Ernst was always a creator, but not one content to use the raw materials of existence and left-overs of tradition. His position in the surrealist hierarchy is secure because if what he made is not out of dreams, then no other source could be readily described. From his mind and hands flowed a proliferation of unidentifiable imagery, which for all its strangeness is privately recognizable in some way by those who have eyes to see. Whatever visual conjuring with pigment (and all manner of other media) the artist may have indulged in, there is a reality--superreality--about his work which, while it may disturb the eye, never perplexes it to the point of non-realization.

In bronze, paint, collages and mixed media, Max Ernst was equally at ease and splendidly efficient. His imagination and craftsmanship carried him from one epoch of his crowded career to another. One never shows signs of overwhelming the rest, and it should be remembered that he was a valuable contributor to the Surrealist film Dreams That Money Can Buy.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Nationality: French. Born: Brühl, Rhineland, Germany, 2 April 1891; immigrated to the United States, 1941: naturalized, 1948; immigrated to France, 1953: naturalized, 1958. Education: Brühl primary schools; studied philosophy and art history at the University of Bonn, under Wilhelm Worringer, 1909-12. Career: Served as an Artillery Engineer, in France and Poland, 1914-17. Family: Married the art historian Louise Strauss in 1918 (divorced, 1921); son: Ulrich (Jimmy); married Marie Berthe Aurenche in 1927 (divorced, 1936); married the collector Peggy Guggenheim in 1941 (divorced, 1941); married the painter Dorothea Tanning in 1946. Career: Member, Young Rhineland Circle, 1911; lifelong friendship with Hans Arp, from 1914; lived in Cologne, 1918-22; co-founder, with J. T. Baargeld (later joined by Arp), Dada Zentrale w/3 Supidia, Cologne, 1919; co-editor, with Baargeld, Der Ventilator, Cologne, 1919-20; co-signed Dada Manifesto, with Tristan Tzara and Hans Arp, 1921; lifelong friendship with Paul Eluard, from 1921; settled illegally in France, with Paul Eluard, in Eaubonne, 1922; worked on murals for the Eluard home, 1923; worked in factory, producing cheap jewelry, Paris, 1922-24; travelled with Eluard in the Far East, 1924; involved with Surrealists, Paris, 1924-38; rented studio in Paris; 1925; worked with Juan Miro on decor for Diaghilev ballet Romeo and Juliet, Paris, 1926; settled in Meudon, 1927; participated in Luis Bunuel's film, L'Age d'Or, 1930; set designer, for Alfred Jarry's Ubu Enchaine, Comedie des Champs-Elysees, Paris, 1937; lived with Leonora Carrington in St. Martin d'Ardeche, France, 1938-39; interned by Gestapo, in 1939; fled to the United States, with the help of Peggy Guggenheim, 1941, and settled in Provincetown, Massachusetts; member with André Breton, Editorial Board, VVV, New York, 1941; worked with Dorothea Tanning, in Arizona and Long Island, 1943-44; acted in Hans Richter's film, Dreams That Money Can Buy, 1946; returned to Europe and lived in Paris, 1953-55, Huismes, near Chinon, 1955-64, and Seillans, in Southern France, from 1964; collaborated on films, Die Widerrechtliche Ausuburg der Astromie, with Peter Schamoni, 1966; Selbsportrat, with Werner Spies, 1966; set designer, La Turangalila ballet, by Oliver Messiaen, at the Paris Opera, 1968. Awards: First Prize for Painting, Biennale, Venice, 1954; Grand Prix, Nordhein-Westfalen Art Exhibition, Dusseldorf 1957; Grand Prix National des Arts ets Lettres, Paris, 1959; Stephen Lochner Medal, Cologne, 1961. Honorary Professor, Nordrhein-Westfalen, 1964; D.Phil., University of Bonn, 1972. Officier, Légion d'Honneur, 1965. Died: In Paris, 1 April 1976.

WORKS
* Individual Exhibitions

* 1913: Gerson Club, Rome
* 1916: Galerie der Sturm, Berlin
* 1921: Galerie Au Sans Pareil, Paris
* 1926: Galerie van Leer, Paris
* 1926: Boutique Pierre Chareau, Paris
* 1926: A la Vierge Poupine, Brussels
* 1927: Galerie van Leer, Paris
* 1928: Galerie Georges Bernheim, Paris
* 1929: Galerie Alfred Flectheim, Berlin (travelled to the Galerie Flectheim, Dusseldorf)
* 1930: Galerie Vignon, France
* 1931: Galerie Pierre, Paris
* 1932: Julien Levy Gallery, New York
* 1933: Mayor Gallery, London
* 1933: Cahiers d'Art, Paris
* 1937: Mayor Gallery, London
* 1938: London Gallery
* 1939: Gordon Fraser Gallery, Cambridge
* 1942: Valentin Gallery, New York
* 1943: Julien Levy Gallery, New York
* 1945: Galerie Denise René Paris
* 1946: Caresse Crosby Gallery, Washington, D.C. (with Dorothea Tanning)
* 1948: Galerie Artiste et Artisan, Paris
* 1948: M. Knoedler and Company, New York
* 1949: Copley Galleries, Beverly Hills, California
* 1950: London Gallery
* 1950: Librairie La Hune, Paris
* 1950: Galerie Rene Drouin, Paris
* 1951: Haus am Waldsee, Berlin
* 1951: Schloss Augustburg, Bruhl, West Germany (toured West Germany)
* 1952: Kunsthalle, Mannheim
* 1952: Wurttembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart
* 1952: Contemporary Arts Association, Houston
* 1953: Contemporary Art Gallery, London
* 1953: Casino Communal, Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium
* 1953: Galerie der Spiegel, Cologne
* 1955: Galerie Beyeler, Basle
* 1956: Le Musee, Tours (with Man Ray and Dorothea Tanning)
* 1956: La Bibliothèque, Tours
* 1956: Kunsthalle, Berne
* 1956: Mathiesen Gallery, London
* 1956: Galerie Berggruen, Paris
* 1957: Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York
* 1958: Galerie Creuzevault, Paris
* 1959: Musee National d'Art Moderne, Paris
* 1960: Bodley Gallery, New York (with Yves Tanguy)
* 1960: Galerie der Spiegel, Cologne (with Hans Arp)
* 1961: Galerie Andre-Francois Petit, Paris (with Yves Tanguy)
* 1961: Bodley Gallery, New York
* 1961: Museum of Modern Art, New York (travelled to Art Institute of Chicago, and the Tate Gallery, London)
* 1961: Galerie au Pont des Arts, Paris
* 1961: Galerie Le Point Cardinal, Paris
* 1962: Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York
* 1962: Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne
* 1962: Roland Browse and Delbanco, London
* 1963: Alexandre Iolas Galerie, Geneva
* 1963: Kunsthaus, Zurich
* 1963: Ecrits et Oeuvre Grave, Bibliothèque Municipale, Tours (travelled to the Galerie Le Point Cardinal, Paris)
* 1964: Galerie der Spiegel, Cologne
* 1964: Galerie au Point des Arts, Paris
* 1964: Musée Grimaldi, Antibes, France
* 1965: Alexandre Iolas Galerie, Paris
* 1965: Hanover Gallery, London
* 1966: Jewish Gallery, New York
* 1966: Galerie Alphonse Chave, Venice
* 1966: Palazzo Grassi, Venice
* 1967: Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York
* 1967: Galerie Fronta, Prague (travelled to the Kunsthalle, Hamburg)
* 1968: Galeria René Metras, Barcelona
* 1968: Galerie Alphonse Chave, Venice
* 1969: Galerie André-Francois Petit, Paris
* 1969: Moderna Museet, Stockholm
* 1969: Städtisches Museum of Mulheim an der Ruhr, West Germany
* 1969: Alexandre Iolas Gallery, New York
* 1969: Galerie au Pont des Arts, Paris
* 1969: Alexandre Iolas Galerie, Paris
* 1970: Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart
* 1970: Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
* 1970: Rice University, Houston (toured the United States and Europe)
* 1970: Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva
* 1970: Städtische Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf
* 1970: Galleria Il Fauno, Turin
* 1970: Kunsthalle, Hamburg (toured West Germany)
* 1971: Galerie Alphonse Chave, Venice
* 1971: Orangerie des Tuileries, Paris
* 1972: Kunstverein, Krefeld, West Germany
* 1973: Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City
* 1973: Müller Galerie, Stuttgart
* 1973: Alexandre Iolas Galerie, Paris
* 1973: Mayor Gallery, London
* 1974: Galerie Beyeler, Basle
* 1974: Alexandre Iolas Galerie, Paris
* 1974: Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts
* 1974: Galerie Jan Krugier, Geneva
* 1975: Bibliothèque National, Geneva
* 1975: Scottish Arts Council Gallery, Edinburgh (toured the U.K.)
* 1975: Guggenheim Museum, New York
* 1975: Grand Palais, Paris
* 1976: Foundation Veranneman, Kruishoutem, Belgium
* 1976: Galerie Baukunst, Colonge
* 1977: Seibu Museum of Art, Tokyo (travelled to the Museum of Modern Art, Kobe)
* 1977: Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris
* 1977: Galerie Isy Brachot, Brussels
* 1978: Kunsthaus, Zurich (travelled to the Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt, and the Stadtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich)
* 1979: Goethe Institut, London
* 1979: Kunstammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf
* 1979: Galerie Suzanne Bollag, Zurich
* 1979: Haus der Kunst, Munich (travelled to the Nationalgalerie, Berlin)
* 1979: Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta
* 1980: Bundeskanzleramt, Bonn
* 1981: Fondation Maeght, St. Paul de Vence, France
* 1982: Acquavella Galleries, New York
* 1982: Billingham Art Gallery, Durham, England (toured Britain)
* 1983: Foundation Maeght, St. Paul de Vence, France
* 1986: Fundacion Joan Miro, Barcelona
* 1986: Fundacion Juan March, Madrid
* 1986: Graphisches Kabinett Wolfgang Werner, Bremen, West Germany
* 1987: Cavaliero Fine Arts, New York

* Selected Group Exhibitions

* 1913: Erster Deutscher Herbstsalon, Galerie der Sturm, Berlin
* 1919: Dada Ausstellung, Kunstverein, Cologne
* 1923: Salon des Indepéndants, Paris
* 1936: International Surrealist Exhibition, New Burlington Galleries, London
* 1940: Esposicion Internacional del Surrealismo, Galerie de Arte Mexicano, Mexico City
* 1944: Abstract and Surrealist Art in the United States, Museum of Art, San Francisco (toured the United States)
* 1958: Dada: Dokumente einer Bewegung, Stadtische
* 1958: Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf (travelled to the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam)
* 1966: Dada Ausstellung zum 50. Jahrigen Jubilaum, Kunsthalle, Zurich (travelled to the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris)
* 1973: Futurism: A Modern Focus, Guggenheim Museum, New York
* 1983: Modern Art in the West, Metropolitan Museum, Tokyo

* Collections

* Nationalgalerie, Berlin
* Kunstmuseum, Dusseldorf
* Stadt Museum, Bruhl, West Germany
* Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Vienna
* Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
* Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice
* Tate Gallery, London
* Museum of Modern Art, New York
* Guggenheim Museum, New York
* Philadelphia Museum of Art.

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