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Penny Arcade Machine

1950
Not on view
The Wadsworth Atheneum was the first museum to acquire the work of Joseph Cornell. When the artist went there, he saw a prized recent acquisition then thought to be by Caravaggio. Later attributed to an unknown French painter, it became the basis for four Cornell box sculptures, which are like reliquaries for the objects of his desire, from Renaissance princes to ballerinas and Hollywood starlets. Although titled Penny Arcade Machine, this box does not feature the chutes, hidden ramps, and rolling balls or marbles featured in other examples.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Penny Arcade Machine
  • Artist: Joseph Cornell (American, Nyack, New York 1903–1972 Flushing, New York)
  • Date: 1950
  • Medium: Box construction: wood, glass, mirror, and printed paper
  • Dimensions: 18 × 12 1/4 × 4 1/4 in., 10.3 lb. (45.7 × 31.1 × 10.8 cm, 4.7 kg)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: The Muriel Kallis Steinberg Newman Collection, Gift of Muriel Kallis Newman, 2006
  • Object Number: 2006.32.11
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Untitled (Pharmacy), Joseph Cornell American, Box construction: wood, glass, mirror, shells, sand, printed paper, coral, cork, feather, metal, and liquid
Untitled (Pharmacy)
Joseph Cornell
1952–53
Untitled (to Leo Lerman), Joseph Cornell American, Cut and pasted hand-colored photograph, mounted to wood construction
Untitled (to Leo Lerman)
Joseph Cornell
ca. 1951
Hotel Dominici, Joseph Cornell American, Box construction: painted wood, printed paper, glass
Hotel Dominici
Joseph Cornell
ca. 1953
La Guerre au Dentelles, Joseph Cornell American, Matte opaque paint and gesso with selectively applied glaze on board
La Guerre au Dentelles
Joseph Cornell
ca. 1970
Tamara Toumanova (Daguerreotype-Object), Joseph Cornell American, Construction with photomechanical reproduction, mirror, rhinestones or sequins, and tinted glass in artist’s frame
Returned to lender
Tamara Toumanova (Daguerreotype-Object)
Joseph Cornell
Tamara Toumanova
October 1941

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