Collection Information

Size: Poem: 1 p.

Sketch: 1 drawing : crayon, watercolor and pen and ink, col.; image and text 18 x 27 cm.

Summary: An abstract self-portrait by Miró, drawn in colored chalk on Hotel Gladstone [New York] stationery, with a note to Ripley signed and dated by Miró November 21, 1961. The drawing was framed by Ripley, and on the reverse he enclosed a sonnet (in Catalan), "En regardent 'Le Lever du Soleil' de Joan Miró," which Ripley composed in honor of Miro's first visit to New York in the 1940s. [Frame removed; poem separated from sketch for preservation purposes.]

Biographical/Historical Note

Ripley, an art patron, poet, painter, and botanist, NYC, was a friend to many artists in New York. Miro was a painter; b. 1893 in Barcelona, Spain.

Provenance

Donated 1975 by S. Dillon Ripley, Dwight Ripley's cousin and secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, who came upon the sketch while going through Ripley's papers after his death.

Restrictions on Access

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.

How to Cite This Collection

Dwight Ripley papers relating to Joan Miró, [ca. 1945]-1961. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.