Yves Tanguy

Jamais Plus [Never Again]

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About this artwork

Never Again was painted shortly before Tanguy left France for New York in November 1939. He took this painting with him to sell to an art dealer in America. The small, individualised amoeba-like forms in the foreground are typical of the shapes Tanguy included at that time in his paintings. It is difficult to determine what these shapes are intended to represent; however, the idea of metamorphosis, of one shape changing into another, is central to Surrealism. The meticulous style of the abstract forms contrasts with the illusionistic background, in which it is difficult to determine depth.

Updated before 2020

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  • artist:
    Yves Tanguy (1900 - 1955) French
  • title:
    Jamais Plus [Never Again]
  • date created:
    1939
  • materials:
    Oil on canvas
  • measurements:
    92.00 x 73.00 cm; Framed: 104.30 x 86.00 x 5.80 cm; 17.00 kg
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Bequeathed by Gabrielle Keiller 1995
  • accession number:
    GMA 4085
  • gallery:
  • subject:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Yves Tanguy

Yves Tanguy