In August 1939, one month before the outbreak of World War II, Miró moved with his wife to Varengeville in Normandy, France. During the Nazi occupation, Miró created a series of gouaches, the Constellations, on which this painting is based. André Breton described Miró's faces, stars, wings, lines, and crescents as "outside the world and outside time, too."
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Inscription: Signed (lower right): Miró; signed and dated (verso): Miró / 1949
the artist (1949–60; sale, "Pour Fréjus," Galerie Charpentier, Paris, January 8, 1960, no. 20, as "Femmes, oiseaux, étoile"); [Galerie Berggruen et Cie, Paris, 1960; sold in February 1960 to P. Matisse]; [Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1960; stock no. 4116; sold on April 8, 1960, with a de Stael painting, in partial exchange for a Pissarro painting, to Bright]; David E. Bright, Los Angeles (1960–d. 1965); his widow, Dolly Bright (later Mrs. Robert Carter), Los Angeles (1965–82; on consignment in April 1982 to Pierre Matisse Gallery, no. C577; sold on June 2, 1982, through P. Matisse, to Gelman); Jacques and Natasha Gelman, Mexico City and New York (1982–his d. 1986); Natasha Gelman, Mexico City and New York (1986–d. 1998; her bequest to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Twentieth-Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection," December 12, 1989–April 1, 1990, unnumbered cat. (p. 229).
London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Twentieth-Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection," April 19–July 15, 1990, unnumbered cat.
Martigny. Fondation Pierre Gianadda. "De Matisse à Picasso: Collection Jacques et Natasha Gelman," June 18–November 1, 1994, unnumbered cat. (p. 253).
Mexico City. Centro Cultural Arte Contemporáneo. "Joan Miró, la Colección del Centro Georges Pompidou, Musée National d'Art Moderne y otras colecciones," February 12–May 24, 1998, no. 34.
Vienna. Albertina. "Miró. From Earth to Sky," September 12, 2014–January 11, 2015, unnumbered cat. (p. 157; as "Painting [Woman, Birds, Star]").
"Paris Art Auction Aids Dam Victims: $221,400 Netted by Works Contributed by French and Other Artists." New York Times (January 9,1960), p. 13.
Paris-Match no. 563 (January 23, 1960), ill. (color).
Jacques Dupin. Joan Miró: Life and Work. New York, [1962], p. 556, no. 732, ill. p. 416, calls it "Painting" and dates it October 19, 1949.
Sabine Rewald inTwentieth-Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Ed. William S. Lieberman. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1989, pp. 228–29, 308, ill. (color and bw).
William S. Lieberman inTwentieth-Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Ed. William S. Lieberman. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1989, p. 14, fig. 3 (color, installation photo, Gelman apartment).
Jacques Dupin and Ariane Lelong-Mainaud. Joan Miró: Catalogue raisonné. Paintings. Vol. 3, 1942–1955. [Paris], 2001, p. 139, no. 836, ill. (color), as "Painting (Woman, Birds, Star)".
Jacques Dupin. Miró. [1st ed., 1993]. Paris, 2012, fig. 305 (color), as "Painting (Woman, Birds, Stars)".
Gisela Fischer inMiró. From Earth to Sky. Ed. Gisela Fischer and Jean-Louis Prat. Exh. cat., Albertina. Vienna, 2014, p. 137, 235, ill. p. 157 (color).
Joan Miró (Spanish, Barcelona 1893–1983 Palma de Mallorca)
1931
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