
© Estate of André Masson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

© Estate of André Masson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

© Estate of André Masson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

© Estate of André Masson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

© Estate of André Masson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.





André Masson
French, 1896-1987
Dans la forêt (In the Forest), 1944
tempera, oil, and sand on canvas
support: 25 x 15 inches (63.5 x 38.1 cm)
Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
Room of Contemporary Art Fund, 1944
RCA1944:17
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Information may change due to ongoing research.Glossary of Terms
Although André Masson was at one time interested in Cubism and, later, in the ideas of Surrealism, his work eventually evolved into an abstract style in which symbolism became the dominant means of expression. During World War II (1939–45), Masson fled France for the United States. It was there that he began developing his compositions using automatism—a creative process in which the artist tries to suppress conscious control over the imagery that emerges. The whimsical forms that comprise In the Forest suggest plants, trees, and animals, yet the overall mood is dream-like and charged with mystery. Masson’s works had a significant impact on artist Arshile Gorky and, eventually, the Abstract Expressionist Jackson Pollock.
Label from Picasso: The Artist and His Models, November 5, 2016–February 19, 2017
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Other Works by This Artist
Surrealism
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