Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Catalog Data

Artist:
Joseph Cornell, born Nyack, NY 1903-died New York City 1972  Search this
Medium:
wooden cutout, paper, spring, and found objects in a glass-fronted wood box
Dimensions:
20 1/4 x 12 x 5 in. (51.4 x 30.5 x 12.7 cm)
Type:
Sculpture
Date:
1949-1953
Gallery Label:
In Cockatoo: Keepsake Parakeet, a bird is perched in its white-walled cage; a coiled spring from a watch is its lone companion. Mementos fill the drawer beneath the cage: a pink plastic charm of an Indian drawing a bow, a paper candy box, French music sheets, and other ephemera. Joseph Cornell gave this box to Donald Windham as a token of thanks for writing the forward in his 1949 exhibition catalogue The Aviaries. The show debuted Cornell's new bird themed boxes, which were inspired by looking into the windows of a pet store.
Cornell's extensive collection of contemporary periodicals and antique books served as source material for his artwork. The lesser lemon-crested cockatoo in the shadow box is from the nineteenth-century book Parrots in Captivity by W. T. Greene. Cornell had several copies of the book from which he cut out images of birds to glue to wooden supports, some of which were left waiting for future, unbuilt boxes. Although many feature the same bird, no two works are alike.
Topic:
Animal\bird\parrot  Search this
Object\other\birdhouse  Search this
Credit Line:
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Donald Windham
Object number:
2003.69
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department:
Painting and Sculpture
Data Source:
Smithsonian American Art Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk728b83835-078b-4b9f-9e8f-b3673fdee484
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:saam_2003.69