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South Polar Quadrille

John Tunnard

Artwork Details

South Polar Quadrille
1947
John Tunnard
ink, colored crayons, watercolor and gouache on white wove paper
15 1/8 x 22 1/16 in. (38.4 x 56 cm);26 1/8 x 32 1/8 in. (66.2 x 81.5 cm);15 3/16 x 22 1/8 in. (38.42 x 56.04 cm)
Museum Purchase
1954/2.49

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Description

This imaginary depiction of the Antarctic landscape reveals Tunnard’s skills as a subtle watercolorist. The painter creates dazzling effects of light and transparency—from the iridescent effects of the aurora australis, rainbows, and constellations of the Southern Cross. The combination of strange, bonelike figures of indeterminate dimensions in an unfathomable setting evokes the mysterious worlds of Tanguy. A lifelong naturalist, Tunnard forged an otherworldly realm where dream and science intermingle.
Label copy from exhibition "Dreamscapes: The Surrealist Impulse," August 22 - October 25, 1998

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