Roberto Matta
Angoisse (Anguish)

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Artist Roberto Matta(Chilean, 1911–2002)Chilean, 1911–2002

CultureChilean

Titles

Angoisse (Anguish)

Date1942

Made inUnited States

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions38 1/4 × 51 1/4 in. (97.2 × 130.2 cm)

Credit LineThe Joseph and Sylvia Slifka Collection

Object number2004.144

Current Location

The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building

Gallery 203

Exposé

Explore Further

Department

Latin American Art

Object Type

PAINTING

DescriptionRoberto Matta, a native of Chile, had been invited by André Breton to join the Paris circle of Surrealists in 1937; two years later Matta fled to New York, joining the Europeans in exile who transformed American art at mid-century. This painting, created at a moment when the artist was making his most essential works, captures through its acid palette and cataclysmic imagery the troubled climate of the war years. Untitled describes the evolution of Surrealism into Abstract Expressionism, recognizing the intercontinental character of art at the time.

ProvenanceThe artist; [Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York]; Joseph and Sylvia Slifka Collection, New York; estate of Joseph and Sylvia Slifka, New York; given to MFAH, 2004.
Exhibition History“Acquisitions of the Last Five Years: Selections of Modern and Contemporary Art,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 15–October 15, 2005.

"North Looks South: Building the Latin American Art Collection," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, June 7–September 27, 2009.

"Intersecting Modernities: Latin American Art from The Brillembourg Capriles Collection," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, June 20–September 2, 2013.

Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Back label: pierre matisse gallery / 41 EAST 57 ST. NEW YORK 22, N.Y. / Artist: matta, 1942 / Title: angoisse / Number: nn 54

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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