MIRÓ, Joan
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Joan Miro (1893-1983) was born April 20, 1893 in Barcelona to Michel Miro Adzerias a goldsmith, and Dolores Ferra, the daughter of a cabinetmaker. At an early age,Miroattended drawing lessons in the evenings after school. At 14, after a brief period of time at a school of commerce inBarcelonahe entered the La Lonja Academy of Fine Arts where he came under the influence of two teachers: Modesto Urgelle andJosePasco. He continued his studies withPascowhile working as a clerk in a business house until a serious illness caused him a leave of absence. Then in 1912 he entered the artschoolofFrancisco GaliinBarcelona. During his years at the school he became interested and influenced by contemporary painting, Impressionism, Fauvism, and Cubism.
He attended drawing sessions of theSant Lluch Circle, where the architect Gaudi had been a student. In 1916 he visited an exhibition of French art organized by Vollard inBarcelona. During this timeMiromet many influential figures of the art world, such asF.Picabia, the founder of the Dada review “391,”MarieLaurencin, andMaxJacob. He had his first exhibition in 1918 at the Gallery Dalmau, and in the same year became a member of theAgrupacioCourbet, a group of young painters around Artigas. He painted “detailist” landscapes at this time. Then in 1919Mirotook his first visit toParis, where he met and became friends withPicasso. He spent the subsequent winters inParis, returning to Montroig with his family for the summer. At the end of 1920 he took a studio at 45 rue Blomet inParis.
His first Parisexhibition in 1921, organized by Dalmau at the Galerie La Licorne was a complete failure. Until his next exhibition in 1923 Miroestablished a close relationship with the neighboring artists surrounding his studio in Paris; and with HenryMillerand Hemingway. Then in 1924 he joined AndreBretonLouisAragon, and PaulEluardin the Surrealist group, and in 1925 took part in the Surrealist exhibition at GaleriePierre. During the years that followed he lived next to and worked closely with Max, Ernst, Magritte, Eluard, and Arp, he was married in 1930 to Pilar Juncosa on October 12th, and continued exhibiting with the Surrealists fromNew York toLondon.
After the outbreak of war inSpainin 1936 he left, not to return for four years. He had 22 works included in the InternationalSurrealist exhibition in the same year, at the New Burlington Galleries inLondon. In 1940 while beginning his Constellations series finished the next year,Miroreturned toParisin the face of the advancing German army. He returned toSpainthat same year. In 1942Miroreturned to live inBarcelona, he begins to work with ceramics in collaboration with Artigas. He makes his first visit to theUnited Statesin 1947, and returns toParisthe next year where he produced numerous engravings and lithographs.
- Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan
- Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
- Guggenheim Museum, New York
- Hermitage Museum
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC
- Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland
- Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota
- Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Museum, Quebec
- Museo Patio Herreriano de Valladolid, Spain
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
- Museum of Modern Art, New York
- National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
- National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
- New Orleans Museum of Art, Louisiana
- Philadelphia Museum of Art, Palazzo Forti, Verona
- Reina Sofía National Museum, Madrid
- San Diego Museum of Art
- Staatsgalerie Stuttgart,
- Tate Gallery, London, UK
- Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Iran
- Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel
- Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio
