Joseph Cornell
1903-1972 · American · Surrealism, Assemblage
Auction record: $7.78M
Untitled (Medici Slot Machine), 1943 · Christie's, New York · May 13, 2014
Source: heni.com
Biography
Joseph Cornell (1903 to 1972) was a self taught artist who spent his life in Queens, New York, collecting prints, maps, toys and ephemera from the city's secondhand shops. From the 1930s he arranged them in glass fronted wooden boxes, poetic shadow boxes devoted to ballerinas, film stars, birds, astronomy and the Medici portraits of the Renaissance. Close to the Surrealists but independent from them, he is regarded as a pioneer of assemblage and made collages and experimental films. For the market his output is intimate in scale and much of the finest work is in museums, so the Medici and Penny Arcade boxes are rare and command the top prices, while collages and minor boxes trade far lower. His record dates from Christie's New York in May 2014.
Recent auction results
| Untitled (Medici Princess) (1948)Christie's, New York | $6.9M | May 18, 2026 | en.ilsole24ore.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel Taglioni-Hotel du Nord (1950)Christie's, New York | $76K | Nov 20, 2025 | heni.com |
Market
- Liquidity: Low
Museums
- Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington
- National Gallery of Art, Washington
- Menil Collection, Houston
Sources
- HENI News, Joseph Cornell: Five Things to Know
- Borsa&Finanza, le 5 opere record di Joseph Cornell (25 febbraio 2026)
- Il Sole 24 Ore, record Rothko da Christie's (19 maggio 2026)
- HENI News, Hotel Taglioni-Hotel du Nord
- Masterworks, Joseph Cornell
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