ANDRE MASSON French, 1896-1987

An early Surrealist and devotee of Cubism, who went on to inspire the New York Abstract Expressionists before taking up a late interest in impressionistic landscapes, André Masson (1896 - 1987) was an iconoclast whose abrupt stylistic transitions defy classification. He was a noted proponent of automatic art, in which the hand is allowed to move freely across the canvas without a conscious plan, in order to uncover thoughts and images from the subconscious mind. This led to images derived from random gestures and drawn spontaneously in glue, then sprinkled with colored sands for added texture and complexity. He was born in 1896, in Balagny-sur-Thérain, a town just north of Paris. A childhood full of time in close proximity to nature made a lasting impression on Masson: he drew inspiration from nature and landscape imagery throughout his career. During World War II, Masson went into exile in the United States, initially in NY, where he continued to experiment with automatism and influenced younger painters such as Jackson Pollock. He later spent time in rural Connecticut, where the landscape again exerted influence over him, resulting in a number of expressive landscape paintings, some of which incorporated American Indian motifs and themes from Iroquois mythology. Masson’s work can be seen in numerous preeminent public collections including the Guggenheim Museum in New York (USA); the Reina Sofía National Museum in Madrid (ES) and the Tate Gallery in London (UK).