Yves Tanguy
Comment [How/What]

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Artist Yves Tanguy (French, 1900–1955)French, 1900–1955

CultureFrench

Titles

Comment [How/What]

Date1940

PlaceUnited States

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions28 × 20 in. (71.1 × 50.8 cm)

Credit LineThe Joseph and Sylvia Slifka Collection

Object number2004.146

Current Location

The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building

Gallery 203

On view

Explore Further

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Object Type

PAINTING

DescriptionYves Tanguy formally joined the Paris Surrealist
circle in 1925, and he soon became celebrated
for his abstract landscapes characterized by
atmospheric vistas populated by enigmatic,
biomorphic figures. With the onset of World
War II in 1939, he fled to New York, where
this canvas was painted. The deliberately
ambiguous title, which can be translated
from the French “comment” as either “what”
or “how,” is in accord with his intuitive working
method. Tanguy stated, “The painting develops
before my eyes, unfolding its surprises as it
progresses. It is this which gives me the sense
of complete liberty.”
ProvenanceSylvia and Joseph Slifka, until her d. 2003; Estate of Sylvia and Joseph Slifka; bequeathed 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.

"Europe 1900-1975: Selections from the Museum's Collection," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 4, 2014–January 4, 2015.

Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Marked in pencil on verso top stretcher:
"COMMENT..." (under the "CIRKER STORAGE...N.Y." label"
"REHO (?) REXO (?)"

Marked lower right: "YVES TANGUY 40"

Back labels: Various framing and storage labels

"pierre matisse gallery / 41 EAST 5TH ST. NEW YORK 22 N.Y. / Comment 1940 / ..."

"GALERIE BEYELER BASEL / ... /COMMENT 1940... / Huile sur toile / ..."

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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