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Joseph Cornell — Untitled (blue Sand Fountain)
Joseph Cornell

Untitled (blue Sand Fountain)

1950

A weathered wooden box encases a delicate arrangement of cascading blue sand, suspended string, and fragments of glass that evoke the mysterious passage of time and the poetic beauty of natural phenomena. Cornell transforms humble materials into a meditative object that suggests the endless flow of an hourglass or the shimmering depths of water caught in a fleeting moment. The work reflects Cornell's signature ability to elevate everyday materials into dreamlike, intimate worlds that invite quiet contemplation.

Medium
sand, wood, glass and string in wooden box construction

🔨 Auction Lot

A Life of Discovery: Works from The Allan Stone Collection | Contemporary Art Online

December 3, 2018

Estimate: $40,000$60,000

Lot 17

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Spotted works by Joseph Cornell

About this work

Joseph Cornell, Untitled (blue Sand Fountain), 1950

A weathered wooden box encases a delicate arrangement of cascading blue sand, suspended string, and fragments of glass that evoke the mysterious passage of time and the poetic beauty of natural phenomena. Cornell transforms humble materials into a meditative object that suggests the endless flow of an hourglass or the shimmering depths of water caught in a fleeting moment. The work reflects Cornell's signature ability to elevate everyday materials into dreamlike, intimate worlds that invite quiet contemplation.

Medium
sand, wood, glass and string in wooden box construction
Year
1950
Seen at
Sotheby's, New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris

Related themes

Surrealism, Twentieth Century, Contemplative Mood, Male Artist, Mixed Media, Modern Art, Abstract Subject, American Artist, Blue Tones, Assemblage Art, Box Construction, Found Objects

More works by Joseph Cornell

Collected by

Art Institute of Chicago