Marcel Duchamp Collectibles and Curiosities
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. His output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art. Duchamp advised modern art collectors such as Peggy Guggenheim and other prominent figures, thereby helping to shape the tastes of Western art during this period.
A playful man, Duchamp challenged conventional thought about artistic processes and art marketing, not so much by writing but through subversive actions such as dubbing a urinal "art" and naming it Fountain. He produced relatively few artworks, while moving quickly through the avant-garde circles of his time.
“All in all, the creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act,” said Duchamp.
Born on July 28, 1887, in Blainville, brother of the artist Raymond Duchamp-Villon and the painter Jacques Villon, Duchamp began to paint in 1908. After producing several canvases in the current mode of Fauvism, he turned toward experimentation and the avant-garde, producing his most famous work, Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) in 1912. Portraying continuous movement through a chain of overlapping Cubistic figures, the painting caused a furor at New York City's famous “Armory Show” in 1913.
Duchamp painted very little after 1915, although he continued until 1923 to work on his masterpiece, The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even, an abstract work, also known as The Large Glass — composed in oil and wire on glass — that was enthusiastically received by the Surrealists.
In sculpture, Duchamp pioneered two of the main innovations of the 20th-century kinetic art and ready-made art. His "ready-mades" consisted simply of everyday objects, such as a urinal and a bottle rack. His Bicycle Wheel, an early example of kinetic art, was mounted on a kitchen stool.
After his short creative period, Duchamp was content to let others develop the themes he had originated; his pervasive influence was crucial to the development of Surrealism, Dada and Pop art.
Duchamp became an American citizen in 1955. He died in Paris on October 1, 1968.
Find a collection of authentic Marcel Duchamp prints, photography and other art on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by David Barnett Gallery)
1990s Marcel Duchamp Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood, Paper
Late 20th Century Japanese Post-Modern Marcel Duchamp Collectibles and Curiosities
Birch, Maple, Walnut, Burl
21st Century and Contemporary British Marcel Duchamp Collectibles and Curiosities
Ceramic, Cork
1970s Italian Renaissance Vintage Marcel Duchamp Collectibles and Curiosities
Marble, Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century European Marcel Duchamp Collectibles and Curiosities
Malachite, Marble
1990s American Post-Modern Marcel Duchamp Collectibles and Curiosities
Epoxy Resin, Maple
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Marcel Duchamp Collectibles and Curiosities
Ceramic, Wood
1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Marcel Duchamp Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
Late 19th Century Indian Anglo-Indian Antique Marcel Duchamp Collectibles and Curiosities
Bone
1980s Vintage Marcel Duchamp Collectibles and Curiosities
Marble
20th Century Modern Marcel Duchamp Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Marcel Duchamp Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Mid-20th Century Turkish Moorish Marcel Duchamp Collectibles and Curiosities
Fruitwood