Exquisite Surprise: The Papers of Joseph Cornell
In his personal papers, as in his art, Joseph Cornell embraced life's evanescence. Known mainly for his shadow box constructions, Cornell documented his passion for "exquisite surprises"—the poignant connections between memory and sensory experience. He recorded his impressions of music, art, ballet, his art, and the intertwined sensations of seeing, feeling, and remembering in his diaries and on scraps of paper—the backs of envelopes, magazine clippings, and wrapping papers.
Deeply romantic, with wide-ranging cultural interests, Cornell kept "dossiers" on people with whom he felt a special relationship-real or imagined-including actresses, singers, artists, ballerinas, and writers. He also collected source material for his exploration of such subjects as astronomy, books, birds, butterflies, clouds, poetry, stamps and sunsets.
This exhibition reveals Cornell's sense of wonder through his private communications, personal musings, and collected ephemera. For a more detailed description of the Archives' collection, see the Joseph Cornell papers, 1804-1986 bulk 1939-1972.
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House where Joseph Cornell was born
- Date
- between 1890 and 1950
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Ray Johnson letter to Joseph Cornell
- Date
- 1966 November 25
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Thomas M. Messer letter to Joseph Cornell
- Date
- ca. 1966
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Rudy Burckhardt letter to Joseph Cornell
- Date
- 1953 May 6
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Julien Levy letter to Joseph Cornell
- Date
- 1967 Feb. 2
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Jackie Monnier letter to unidentified recipient
- Date
- 1967 Dec. 6
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Marcel Duchamp at an opening at Cordier and Ekstrom Gallery, New York
- Date
- 1965 Jan. 14
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Allan Stone letter to Joseph Cornell
- Date
- 1965 July 27
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Robert Motherwell letter to Joseph Cornell
- Date
- 1948 Mar. 4
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Maria Motherwell letter to Joseph Cornell
- Date
- 1945 Nov. 26
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