Abstract surrealist scene - Attributes: In the manner of Yves Tanguy and signed on the lower right - Media: Oil on paper - Dimensions metric: 16.3 by 26.8 cm - Dimensions imperial: 6 1/2 by 10 1/2 inches - Artist biography: Yves Tanguy was an American-French early Surrealist painter whose work was influential to many noteworthy artists and thinkers, includimg Isamu Noguchi, David Hare, and Roberto Matta. Tanguy, whose full name is Raymond Georges Yves Tanguy, was born on January 5, 1900, in Paris, France and befriended the son of Henri Matisse, Pierre, at an early age. His surreal landscapes, reminiscent of Giorgio de Chirico, pair themes of psychology and personal symbolism with specific, precise imagery. Unlike other Surrealists, he represented dreamspace with a high degree of naturalism and realism, achieving believability among the fantastical scenes he represented. Among his best-known works is the oil painting Mama, Papa is Wounded! (1927), a gray-blue composition featuring a mysterious wasteland referencing the anxiety of a post-World War I world. Regarding his artistic process, Tanguay said that “the painting develops before my eyes, unfolding its surprises as it progresses. It is this which gives me the sense of complete liberty, and for this reason I am incapable of forming a plan or making a sketch beforehand.†The artist died on January 15, 1955 in Woodbury, CT.