Max Ernst and the American Years

Lecture in French

After a number of adventures in French concentration camps, Max Ernst headed for Lisbon, and from there, on 14th July 1941, he flew to New York in the company of his wife-to-be, Peggy Guggenheim. In New York the exiles quickly had to find a way to earn a living, despite the various famous people who had promised to cover their expenses.

It was in these particular circumstances that the Surrealists, Max Ernest amongst them, experimented with new artistic temptations and options, leading to the eruption of an entire historic and artistic context.

Max Ernst was thus involved in the group’s Surrealist exhibitions and publications, including some major contributions to the magazines VIEW and VVV. His work was heavily inspired by Native American cultures, which he rediscovered, as well as by the context of American art and literature.

Fabrice Flahutez is a professor at the Université de Paris X Nanterre. He has published a number of articles on Surrealism and Surrealist artists in catalogues and specialist publications. His lecture was part of the cycle running parallel to the show Beyond Painting. Max Ernst in the Würth Collection.

The lecture was given in French. Translation service into Spanish was available.

In collaboration with the Centre allemand d’histoire de l’art in Paris and the Universidad de Málaga.