The Two Towers and the Four Seasons
- Date
- 1957
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- made in
- Mexico, North and Central America
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 46 1/2 x 70 1/8 in. (118.1 x 178.1 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pulitzer Jr.
- Rights
- © Estate of Alice Rahon
- Object Number
- 171:1959
NOTES
In a walled city, two towers are connected by a labyrinth of houses floating against a brilliant teal sky. Alice Rahon painted this scene in thin layers, incorporating sand and incising outlines for texture. The presence of both the moon, at upper left, and sun, embedded within the cityscape, suggests the passage of time. Gradual color variations allude to the four seasons of the title. Originally a Surrealist poet, Rahon concentrated on painting when she settled in Mexico in 1939 to avoid the Nazi occupation of France. In such works she drew on historic art and legends and landscapes she had witnessed—synthesizing these into imaginative apparitions that transcend reality.
Provenance
- 1958
Galería de Arte Mexicano, Mexico City, Mexico [1]
1958 - 1959
Joseph Pulitzer, Jr. (1913-1993) and Louise Vauclain [Mrs. Joseph] Pulitzer (1914–1968), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from the Galería de Arte Mexicano [2]
1959 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Joseph Pulitzer Jr. and Louise Vauclain Pulitzer [3]
Notes:
[1] Charles Scott Chetham. Modern Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture Collected by Louise and Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., vol. II (Cambridge, MA: Fogg Art Museum, 1958), 246 (cat. 130).
[2] Mariana Pérez Amor of the Galería de Arte Mexicano attested that Joseph Pulitzer, Jr. purchased the painting from the Galería de Arte Mexicano in May 1958. Email dated May 12, 2016, from Mariana Pérez Amor to Molly Moog and attached photograph of an entry in the salesbook of the Galería de Arte Mexicano [SLAM document files]
[3] Deed of gift dated December 16, 1959 and signed by Joseph Pulitzer, Jr. [SLAM closed document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control and the Advisory Committee of the City Art Museum, December 10, 1959.
Galería de Arte Mexicano, Mexico City, Mexico [1]
1958 - 1959
Joseph Pulitzer, Jr. (1913-1993) and Louise Vauclain [Mrs. Joseph] Pulitzer (1914–1968), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from the Galería de Arte Mexicano [2]
1959 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Joseph Pulitzer Jr. and Louise Vauclain Pulitzer [3]
Notes:
[1] Charles Scott Chetham. Modern Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture Collected by Louise and Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., vol. II (Cambridge, MA: Fogg Art Museum, 1958), 246 (cat. 130).
[2] Mariana Pérez Amor of the Galería de Arte Mexicano attested that Joseph Pulitzer, Jr. purchased the painting from the Galería de Arte Mexicano in May 1958. Email dated May 12, 2016, from Mariana Pérez Amor to Molly Moog and attached photograph of an entry in the salesbook of the Galería de Arte Mexicano [SLAM document files]
[3] Deed of gift dated December 16, 1959 and signed by Joseph Pulitzer, Jr. [SLAM closed document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control and the Advisory Committee of the City Art Museum, December 10, 1959.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.