Yves Tanguy
Tanguy was riding a bus through Paris in 1923[7] when he spotted a painting by Giorgio de Chirico in a gallery window. He became so agitated he jumped off at the next stop and ran back to look at it. He decided on the spot to become a painter. He had no training whatsoever. He was twenty-three.
Biography
He was born in Paris in 1900[7]. He briefly joined the merchant navy in 1918[7] before being drafted into the army, where he met the poet Jacques Prevert, who later introduced him to Andre Breton's Surrealist circle. He joined the Surrealists in 1925 and had his first solo show just two years later, having taught himself everything.
His paintings consistently depict flat, featureless landscapes resembling sea floors or alien terrain, populated by biomorphic forms that look like melted rocks or bones. He never explained them. The palette is muted, the horizons infinite, the atmosphere airless. The same vocabulary of forms appears across decades of work with only gradual variation.
He married the American Surrealist painter Kay Sage in Reno, Nevada, in 1940[7]. They settled in Woodbury, Connecticut, converting an old farmhouse into a studio. He died there in 1955[7], aged fifty-five.
Timeline
- 1900Born at the Ministry of Naval Affairs on Place de la Concorde in Paris to parents of Breton origin.
- 1923At 23, saw Giorgio de Chirico's The Child's Brain in a Paris gallery window and resolved to become a painter despite having no formal training.
- 1925At 25, joined Andre Breton's Surrealist circle in Paris, introduced through his close friend the poet Jacques Prevert.
- 1927At 27, held his first solo exhibition in Paris and married his first wife, Jeannette Ducrocq.
- 1938At 38, travelled to London for his first British retrospective at Peggy Guggenheim's gallery and began a relationship with artist Kay Sage.
- 1940At 40, married Kay Sage in Reno, Nevada, and settled permanently in the United States after fleeing wartime France.
- 1948At 48, became a naturalised United States citizen while living and painting at a converted farmhouse in Woodbury, Connecticut.
- 1955Died aged 55 from a stroke at his home in Woodbury, Connecticut. Andre Breton considered him the most faithful Surrealist painter.
Notable Works
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Where to See Yves Tanguy
11 museums worldwide.
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10 worksMuseum of Modern Art
New York City, United States
Daily 10:30–17:30 (Sat until 19:00; first Fri of month until 20:00) · Adults $30, students $17
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3 worksThyssen-Bornemisza Museum
Madrid, Spain
Mon 12:00-16:00, Tue-Fri 10:00-19:00, Sat 10:00-23:00, Sun 10:00-19:00 · €14
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6 worksPhiladelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia, United States
Mon 10:00-17:00, Tue-Wed closed, Thu 10:00-17:00, Fri 10:00-20:45, Sat-Sun 10:00-17:00
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2 works
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Minneapolis, United States
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4 worksIsrael Museum
Jerusalem, Israel
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See all Yves Tanguy prints →Frequently Asked Questions
How did yves tanguy die?
Yves Tanguy died in 1955[7] at the age of 55.Where did yves tanguy live?
When Yves Tanguy was eight years old, his father died, and a few years later, his brother was killed in action during the First World War. His mother moved to Brittany, leaving him at school in Paris, although he joined her for the summer holidays. After leaving school, he signed up for the merchant navy, and two years later he was conscripted into the French[7] army in Tunis, where he met the poet Jacques.Who is yves tanguy?
Yves Tanguy was best known for his eerie paintings that blend fact and fantasy. He explored the unconscious as if it were another world. The artist was self-taught, and he painted his childhood memories and dreams, as well as his own hallucinations and psychotic episodes.Who was yves tanguy?
Yves Tanguy was best known for his eerie paintings that blend fact and fantasy. He explored the unconscious as if it were another world. The artist was self-taught, and he painted his childhood memories and dreams, as well as his own hallucinations and psychotic episodes.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Yves Tanguy.
- [1] museum Toledo Museum of Art Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] museum Buffalo AKG Art Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [3] museum San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Used for: museum holdings.
- [4] museum National Galleries Scotland Used for: museum holdings.
- [5] museum Sprengel Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [6] museum Neue Nationalgalerie Used for: museum holdings.
- [7] wikipedia Wikipedia: Yves Tanguy Used for: biography, birth dates, death dates, identifiers, movement attribution, nationality.
- [8] book Susie Hodge, Artistic Circles Used for: biography.
- [9] book guggenheim-guhe00solo Used for: biography.
- [10] book guggenheim-handboo00pegg Used for: biography.
- [11] book Susie Hodge, I Know an Artist Used for: museum holdings.
- [12] book Susie Hodge, I Know an Artist: The Inspiring Connections Between the World's Greatest Artists Used for: museum holdings.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-07-15. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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