The Transformed Dream
- Date
- 1913
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 25 × 59 3/4 in. (63.5 × 151.8 cm)
framed: 32 3/4 × 67 5/8 × 4 1/8 in. (83.2 × 171.8 × 10.5 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pulitzer Jr.
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 313:1951
NOTES
Giorgio de Chirico juxtaposes unusual objects within a vast, empty Italian piazza. An arrangement of fruit and a statue of the ancient Roman god Jupiter’s head in the foreground are offset in the distance by a steam train.
In the years before World War I (1914–1918), De Chirico was an originator of the Italian movement, Pittura Metafisica (Metaphysical Painting), which sought to explore alternative realities behind appearances. The dreamlike qualities of the artist’s work were a major inspiration for the Surrealists.
Provenance
by 1918 -
Galerie Paul Guillaume, Paris, France [1]
André Breton (1896-1966), Paris, France [2]
- 1935
Simone Kahn, acquired from André Breton [3]
1935
Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, NY, USA, purchased from Simone Kahn [4]
1935 - 1942
Mr. and Mrs. Francis J. Steegmüller, New York, NY, purchased from Pierre Matisse Gallery [5]
1942 - 1943
Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, NY, purchased from Mr. and Mrs. Francis J. Steegmüller
1943 - 1951
Joseph Pulitzer Jr. (1913-1993) and Louise Vauclain Pulitzer (d.1968), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Pierre Matisse Gallery [6]
1951 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Joseph Pulitzer Jr. and Louise Vauclain Pulitzer [7]
Notes:
[1] According to Dell'Arco's publication [Dell'Arco, Maurizio Fagiolo. "L'opera completa di De Chirico 1908-1924." Milan: Rizzoli Editore 1984, cat. no. 42]. Label of Galerie Paul Guillaume on verso.
[2] In a letter from Pierre Matisse to Joseph Pulitzer Jr. dated March 10, 1943, he mentioned that the painting was originally owned by André Breton [SLAM document files]. It is likely that the painting was still in Breton's collection in 1928 when an exhibition of de Chirico works owned by the Surrealists was held at the Galerie Surréaliste ["Ouevres anciennes de Georges de Chirico." Galerie Surréaliste, Paris, Feb. 15 - March 1, 1928, cat. no. 4].
[3] Purchase records from the Pierre Matisse Gallery Archives indicate the painting was purchased by the gallery in 1935 from Simone Kahn, who was the first wife (from 1921-1929) of André Breton [Purchase records, stock no. 393, SLAM document files].
[4] Exhibited at the Pierre Matisse Gallery, 1935 ["Giorgio de Chirico 1908-1918." Pierre Matisse Gallery, NY, Nov. 19 - Dec. 21, 1935, cat. no. 1]. The painting was sold the same year to Francis Steegmüller. See note [3].
[5] See notes [3, 4]. Listed as in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Francis J. Steegmüller, New York, in a 1941 exhibition [Soby, James Thrall. "The Early Chirio." New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1941, cat. no. 13]. Mrs. Steegmüller offered the painting for sale back to Pierre Matisse in December 1942 [letter from Mrs. Steegmüller to Pierre Matisse dated December 19, 1942, SLAM document files]. Purchase records from the Pierre Matisse Gallery Archives indicate the painting was purchased by the gallery December 21, 1942 from F. Steegmuller [Purchase records, stock no. 1305, SLAM document files].
[6] According to the bill of sale from Pierre Matisse Gallery to Joseph Pulitzer Jr. dated April 20, 1943 [SLAM document files]. In the March 1943 letter to Joseph Pulitzer (see note [2]), Pierre Matisse states that the de Chirico is among 33 of the 69 paintings in Soby's book (see note [5]) that passed through his hands.
[7] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, December 6, 1951.
Galerie Paul Guillaume, Paris, France [1]
André Breton (1896-1966), Paris, France [2]
- 1935
Simone Kahn, acquired from André Breton [3]
1935
Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, NY, USA, purchased from Simone Kahn [4]
1935 - 1942
Mr. and Mrs. Francis J. Steegmüller, New York, NY, purchased from Pierre Matisse Gallery [5]
1942 - 1943
Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, NY, purchased from Mr. and Mrs. Francis J. Steegmüller
1943 - 1951
Joseph Pulitzer Jr. (1913-1993) and Louise Vauclain Pulitzer (d.1968), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Pierre Matisse Gallery [6]
1951 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Joseph Pulitzer Jr. and Louise Vauclain Pulitzer [7]
Notes:
[1] According to Dell'Arco's publication [Dell'Arco, Maurizio Fagiolo. "L'opera completa di De Chirico 1908-1924." Milan: Rizzoli Editore 1984, cat. no. 42]. Label of Galerie Paul Guillaume on verso.
[2] In a letter from Pierre Matisse to Joseph Pulitzer Jr. dated March 10, 1943, he mentioned that the painting was originally owned by André Breton [SLAM document files]. It is likely that the painting was still in Breton's collection in 1928 when an exhibition of de Chirico works owned by the Surrealists was held at the Galerie Surréaliste ["Ouevres anciennes de Georges de Chirico." Galerie Surréaliste, Paris, Feb. 15 - March 1, 1928, cat. no. 4].
[3] Purchase records from the Pierre Matisse Gallery Archives indicate the painting was purchased by the gallery in 1935 from Simone Kahn, who was the first wife (from 1921-1929) of André Breton [Purchase records, stock no. 393, SLAM document files].
[4] Exhibited at the Pierre Matisse Gallery, 1935 ["Giorgio de Chirico 1908-1918." Pierre Matisse Gallery, NY, Nov. 19 - Dec. 21, 1935, cat. no. 1]. The painting was sold the same year to Francis Steegmüller. See note [3].
[5] See notes [3, 4]. Listed as in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Francis J. Steegmüller, New York, in a 1941 exhibition [Soby, James Thrall. "The Early Chirio." New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1941, cat. no. 13]. Mrs. Steegmüller offered the painting for sale back to Pierre Matisse in December 1942 [letter from Mrs. Steegmüller to Pierre Matisse dated December 19, 1942, SLAM document files]. Purchase records from the Pierre Matisse Gallery Archives indicate the painting was purchased by the gallery December 21, 1942 from F. Steegmuller [Purchase records, stock no. 1305, SLAM document files].
[6] According to the bill of sale from Pierre Matisse Gallery to Joseph Pulitzer Jr. dated April 20, 1943 [SLAM document files]. In the March 1943 letter to Joseph Pulitzer (see note [2]), Pierre Matisse states that the de Chirico is among 33 of the 69 paintings in Soby's book (see note [5]) that passed through his hands.
[7] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, December 6, 1951.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.