Dorothea Tanning

Primitive Seating

About this artwork

Interested in tactility, texture and form, Tanning began to create soft sculptures in the 1960s. This antique chair-turned-Surrealist-sculpture once sat in her New York apartment. She owned the original chair when living in France. Soon after moving back to New York in 1979, she recovered it with the animal print fabric and added the tail. When asked what had inspired her to make Primitive Seating, she wryly replied: ‘I had some material left over, so I put a tail on it.’ Treading the line between domestic object and work of art, Primitive Seating invites the viewer to consider the surreal possibilities of everyday objects.

Updated 2021

  • artist:
    Dorothea Tanning (1910 - 2012) American
  • title:
    Primitive Seating
  • date created:
    1982
  • materials:
    Fabric, upholstered wood chair, and wool
  • measurements:
    113.00 x 66.00 x 147.90 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Purchased with support from Alison Jacques, London, 2021
  • accession number:
    GMA 5730
  • gallery:
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Dorothea Tanning

Dorothea Tanning