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Untitled (Pharmacy)

1952–53
Not on view
This work is one of six pharmacies made by Cornell over a decade; it is one of the last he made. The subject is not coincidental; as a practicing Christian Scientist, the artist was forbidden to take medicine. Instead, in his miniature apothecary Cornell placed medicine for the soul and imagination: colored sand, a speckled shell, maps, newspaper clippings, and a cork.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Untitled (Pharmacy)
  • Artist: Joseph Cornell (American, Nyack, New York 1903–1972 Flushing, New York)
  • Date: 1952–53
  • Medium: Box construction: wood, glass, mirror, shells, sand, printed paper, coral, cork, feather, metal, and liquid
  • Dimensions: 14 3/8 × 13 3/8 × 5 11/16 in., 14.7 lb. (36.5 × 34 × 14.4 cm, 6.7 kg)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: The Muriel Kallis Steinberg Newman Collection, Gift of Muriel Kallis Newman, 2006
  • Object Number: 2006.32.12
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Penny Arcade Machine, Joseph Cornell American, Box construction: wood, glass, mirror, and printed paper
Penny Arcade Machine
Joseph Cornell
1950
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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