Siren of the Niger
Date
1950
Artist
Wifredo Lam, Cuban, b. Sagua la Grande, 1902–1982
Provenance
Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, by May 1950
Edwin Bergman Collection, Chicago
Galerie Albert Loeb, Paris, before September 1966-30 August 1967
Joseph H. Hirshhorn, New York, 30 August 1967-6 March 1972
Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1972
Exhibition History
PIERRE MATISSE GALLERY, New York. "Wifredo Lam," 2-20 May 1950.
PARQUE CENTRAL, Havana. "Wifredo Lam," 2-15 October 1950, no. 12, ill.
MUSEO DE BELLAS ARTES, Caracas. "Exposicion Lam," 8-22 May 1955, no. 29.
KUNSTHALLE, Basel. "Wifredo Lam," 10 September-9 October 1966, no. 42. Tour: KESTNER-GESELLSCHAFT, Hanover, 16 December-15 January 1967; STEDELIJK MUSEUM, Amsterdam, 26 January-12 March; MODERNA MUSEET, Stockholm, 8 April-7 May; PALAIS DE BEAUX-ARTS, Brussels, 18 May-18 June.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "Inaugural Exhibition," 4 October 1974-15 September 1975, fig. 551, p. 391, p. 710.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "Ibero-American Art: Selections from the Hirshhorn Museum Collection," 8 October-15 November 1981, no. 7.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "Crosscurrents of Modernism: Four Latin American Pioneers: Diego Rivera, Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Wifredo Lam, Matta," 11 June-7 September 1992, no. 71, p. 183, ill. p. 210.
MUSEO NACIONAL CENTRO DE ART REINA SOFIA, Madrid. "Wifredo Lam," 29 September-14 December 1992, ill. p. 111. Tour: FUNDACION JOAN MIRO, Barcelona, 21 January-28 March 1993.
MUSEUM OF ART, Fort Lauderdale. "Cuban Artists of the Twentieth Century," 22 October 1993-2 January 1994, ill. p. 12.
NASSAU COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART, Roslyn Harbor, New York. "Latin Viewpoints: Into the Mainstream," 18 August-3 November 1996, ill. p. 76.
HAGGERTY MUSEUM OF ART, Milwaukee. "Wifredo Lam in North America," 11 October 2007-21 January 2008, ill. p. 36; pl. 48, p. 122. Tour: MIAMI ART MUSEUM, 8 February-18 May; MUSEUM OF LATIN AMERICA, Long Beach, California, 12 June-31 August; SALVADOR DALI MUSEUM, St. Petersburg, Florida, 2 October-10 January 2009.
COMPLESSO DEL VITTORIANO, Rome. "Dada into Surrealism," 8 October 2009-7 February 2010.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "Masterworks from the Hirshhorn Collection," 9 June 2016-6 August 2017, no cat.
Published References
ORTIZ, FERNANDO. “WIfredo Lam y su obra vista a traves de significados criticos,” Publicaciones del Ministerio de Educacion (Havana: L’Anana, 1950), ill.
TARNAUD, CLAUDE. “Wifredo Lam et le ‘Bestiare Ambigu’,” XXe Siècle 25, no. 21 (May 1963), p. 38, ill.
LEIRIS, MICHEL. Wifredo Lam (Milan: Fratelli Fabbri, 1970), p. 35, ill. p. 98.
LERNER, ABRAM, et al. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1974), fig. 551, p. 391, p. 710.
FOUCHET, MAX-POL. Wifredo Lam (Paris: Éditions Cercle d’Art, 1989), n.p.
LAURIN-LAM, LOU. Wifredo Lam: Catalogue Raisonné of the Painted Work, Volume I 1923-1960 (Lausanne: Acatos, 1996), no. 50.14, ill. p. 424.
AQUIN, STEPHANE, et al. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: The Collection (New York: DelMonico Books, 2022), fig. 15 (color), p. 9.
See more items in
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection
School
Abstract Expressionism (First Generation)
Credit Line
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1972
Data Source
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Accession Number
72.169
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil and charcoal on canvas
Dimensions
51 × 38 1/8 in. (129.5 × 96.8 cm)
