What Do You See? The Collection of Sidney Rothberg, Part II

Dorothea Tanning, born in Galesburg, Illinois, was a pioneering American artist associated with Surrealism. After studying painting in Chicago, she relocated to New York in the 1930s, where she emerged as a prominent figure in avant-garde circles. Tanning's dreamlike and often unsettling works, including Birthday (1942, Philadelphia Museum of Art), earned her a reputation as a Surrealist par excellence, although she would often challenge the designation. She married painter Max Ernst in 1946, and, eventually, the couple settled in France, where Tanning continued to develop a unique style that commingled elements of abstraction with introspection. 

In the 1950s, Tanning evolved away from strictly Surrealist themes—a trend that would continue through the early 1970s, when the present and subsequent lots were executed. During this period, she produced a series of works that showcased her adeptness with various mediums, including painting, drawing, and collage, while demonstrating a predilection for exploring complex emotions through fragmented, distorted compositions. Together, Dans le Désordre and Première Audience are suggestive of a kind of psychological landscape—a site where Tanning could create, define, and redefine personal and existential narratives.