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Eggs of Rain

Date
1953
Material
Oil on canvas
made in
Italy, Europe
Classification
Paintings
Current Location
On View, Gallery 212
Dimensions
35 x 41 1/2 in. (88.9 x 105.4 cm)
framed: 35 1/4 x 41 3/4 in. (89.5 x 106 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pulitzer Jr.
Rights
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, NY/ADAGP, Paris
Object Number
244:1962
NOTES
Roberto Matta presents a network of tubular forms within a swamp-like green expanse. Tiny silver eggs cluster at bottom right and, given the picture’s title, perhaps allude to a future rainstorm. The artist was much influenced by French Surrealism, particularly the practice of automatic drawing, where the hand is freed from rational control. Matta worked in New York during the 1940s and became a mentor for a generation of young American painters who shared his interest in abstraction and unconscious creative impulses.
- 1956
Galleria Schneider, Rome, Italy, acquired from the artist [1]

1956 - 1962
Joseph Pulitzer Jr. (1913-1993) and Louise Vauclain Pulitzer (d.1968), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from the Galleria Schneider [2]

1962 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given anonymously [3]

Notes:
[1] According to the catalogue of the Pulitzer collection, Galleria Schneider acquired the work from the artist [Chetham, Charles Scott. "Modern Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture Collected by Louise and Joseph Pulitzer, Jr." Cambridge, MA: Fogg Art Museum, vol. 2, 1958, cat. 118].

[2] Mr. and Mrs. Pulitzer purchased the work from Galleria Schneider, November 7, 1956, see note [1].

[3] Receipt dated December 13, 1962 acknowledging gift from Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pulitzer, Jr. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control and the Advisory Committee of the City Art Museum, December 13, 1962.

We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.

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