La Unidad del Multiple
Glass encountered Surrealism while training in Paris, the movement’s epicenter, during the 1950s. La Unidad del Multiple, which Glass produced in Mexico, his longtime residence, reflects the Surrealists’ predilection for intimate, compact objects meant to be handled. The dreamlike watercolor-on-ivory drawing contained within the cover of the handmade box is typical of Glass’s style, as is the imagery on the drypoint prints that the box houses. The single collage in the portfolio is an amalgam of everyday objects, including a miniature spoon and fragments of a doily, which together compose a fantastic scene. Accompanying the portfolio is a poem written by fellow Mexico-based Surrealist artist and author Leonora Carrington.
Artwork Details
- Title: La Unidad del Multiple
- Artist: Alan Glass (Canadian, active Mexico,1932–2023 Mexico City)
- Author: Written by Leonora Carrington (Mexican (born England), Clayton Green, Lancashire 1917–2011 Mexico City)
- Date: 2003–5
- Medium: Drypoint, watercolor and collage
- Dimensions: Overall: 10 3/4 x 7 3/4 x 2 3/4 in. (27.3 x 19.7 x 7 cm)
sheet: 10 1/8 x 7 1/4 in. (25.7 x 18.4 cm) - Classification: Portfolios
- Credit Line: Gift of the artist, 2009
- Object Number: 2009.436.1a–w
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.