Portfolio
Dorothea Tanning, American, 1910 - 2012
1993
Lithograph, assemblage, fabric on paper
Signed printer's proof, aside from edition of 25
Overall: 37 7/8 in. (96.2 cm)
Overall: 48 1/4 × 23 13/16 in. (122.6 × 60.5 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Anonymous Fund #144
PR.2000.36
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
20th century
Object Name
Research Area
Not on view
Inscriptions
Signed, in graphite, lower right: Dorothea tanning; inscribed, in graphite, lower left; P/P
Label
When closed, this work features a young girl carrying an unwieldy artist’s portfolio in a yellow void. One would expect to find within it drawings or photographs consistent with its blank-faced owner in her ballet flats. Instead, the lithograph peels back to reveal a jarring surrealist scene of monsters and confusion, upending all expectations. The girl here twists, her legs splayed open, as the three creatures grab at one another.
In this incongruous unveiling, the print invites us to join in with the absurdity. Humor often happens when we come across something we did not expect, and here Tanning suggests that anything might have a hidden side full of whimsy and wildness—even ourselves.
From the 2026 exhibition A Space for Dialogue 128, You Just Got to Laugh, curated by Sara N. Shelton ‘26, Class of 1954 Intern
Course History
Studio Art 27.01, Printmaking I, Abra Ancliffe, Spring 2024
Writing 7.45.01, The Poetics of Surrealism, John Barger, Spring 2024
Writing 7.45.02, The Poetics of Surrealism, John Barger, Spring 2024
Writing 7.45, The Poetics of Surrealism, John Barger, Spring 2025
Exhibition History
A Space for Dialogue 128, You Just Got to Laugh, Sara N. Shelton ‘26, Class of 1954 Intern, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 10 - March 1, 2026.
A Space for Dialogue 45, Discovering Identity Through Art, Joan Miro and Dorothea Tanning's Surrealist Explorations of the Unconscious, Melissa Fan, Class of 2008, Main Lobby, Levinson Student Intern, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, May 16-August 3, 2008.
A Space for Dialogue 71, Agents of Change: Metamorphosis and the Feminine, Claire J. Hunter, Class of 2012, Mellon Special Project Curatorial Intern, Main Lobby, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 14-August 12,2012.
The Art of Spectatorship: A History of Viewing from the Renaissance to the Present Day, Harrington Gallery Teaching Exhibition, Art History 2, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 19-April 6, 2008.
Provenance
G. W. Einstein Company, Inc., New York, New York; sold to present collection, 2000.
Catalogue Raisonne
G. W. Einstein Company, Inc., New York; sold to present collection, 2000.
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