Video one: Wanderlust
Joseph Cornell and travel
The title of our Joseph Cornell exhibition is ‘Wanderlust’. Curator Sarah Lea describes how this theme is closely linked to Cornell’s artistic practice, and his travels of the imagination.
Joseph Cornell
Wanderlust
4 July — 27 September 2015
★★★★★
"This is a first-rate exhibition of one of the 20th century’s most inspiring artists."
The Guardian
★★★★
"Spellbinding"
The Telegraph
"I don’t think this exhibition’s achievement can be overstated."
New Statesman
Joseph Cornell
From a basement in New York, Joseph Cornell channelled his limitless imagination into some of the most original art of the 20th century. Step into his beguiling world at this landmark exhibition.
Cornell hardly ventured beyond New York State, yet the notion of travel was central to his art. His imaginary voyages began as he searched Manhattan’s antique bookshops and dime stores, collecting a vast archive of paper ephemera and small objects to make his signature glass-fronted ‘shadow boxes’.
These miniature masterpieces transform everyday objects into spellbinding treasures. Together they reveal his fascination with subjects from astronomy and cinema to literature and ornithology and especially his love of European culture, from the Romantic ballet to Renaissance Italy.
Wanderlust brings together 80 of Cornell’s most remarkable boxes, assemblages, collages and films, some never before seen outside the USA. Entirely self-taught, the independence of Cornell’s creative voice won the admiration of artists from Marcel Duchamp and the Surrealists, to Robert Motherwell and the Abstract Expressionists, with echoes of his work felt in Pop and Minimalist art.
Wanderlust is a long overdue celebration of an incomparable artist, a man the New York Times called “a poet of light; an architect of memory-fractured rooms and a connoisseur of stars, celestial and otherwise.”
Joseph Cornell: Wanderlust is organised by the Royal Academy of Arts, London in collaboration with the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
4 July — 27 September 2015
Saturday – Thursday 10am – 6pm
Friday 10am – 10pm
£11.50 (without donation £10). Concessions available. Friends of the RA and under 16s go free.
The Sackler Wing, Burlington House
2009-2017 Season supported by
Supported by
With additional generous support from
The Mayor Gallery
Aimee and Robert Lehrman
Maddocks Brown Foundation
James Corcoran
Tracy Lew
The Alan and Carol Kelly Charitable Fund
And other supporters of the Cornell Leadership Circle who wish to remain anonymous
-
What Friends of the RA are saying about the exhibition
We asked Friends of the Royal Academy what they thought about the exhibition ‘Joseph Cornell: Wanderlust’. Here’s what they had to say.
-
Gallery
Joseph Cornell, Naples, c. 1942.
Joseph Cornell, Toward the Blue Peninsula: for Emily Dickinson, c. 1953.
Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Pinturicchio Boy), 1942-52.
Joseph Cornell, Habitat Group for a Shooting Gallery, 1943.
Joseph Cornell, Palace, 1943.
Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Celestial Navigation), 1956-58.
Joseph Cornell, Untitled Object (Mona Lisa), c. 1940-42.
-
He preferred the ticket to the trip, the postcard to the place… Cornell’s boxes look like dreams to us, but the mind that made them was always wide awake.
The New Yorker
-
Five things you need to know about Joseph Cornell
-
He was a quiet pioneer
One of the 20th–century art world’s most unassuming characters, Joseph Cornell was also amongst its most original and inventive. Cornell is best-known for his ‘shadow boxes’: modest, glass-fronted constructions which transport the viewer into imagined realms.
-
His art arose from collecting
Cornell loved to roam Manhattan’s dime stores in search of antique books, postcards and small objects, gradually amassing a vast collection of treasured finds. These would become the raw materials for his highly personal form of art.
-
He saw himself as an "armchair voyager"
Cornell never left America in his life, yet his creations offered him a way to travel through the centuries of history, the continents of the globe and even the celestial realm. His work is filled with a yearning for distant places and times.
-
-
-
He was a connoisseur of a huge range of subjects
In his many and varied interests, Cornell did not differentiate between the arts and sciences, nor between high-brow culture and popular entertainment. He saw Hollywood starlets, 18th–century ballerinas and Medici princesses as equally worthy subjects for his art.
-
He was on the periphery of great art movements
Cornell lived an eccentric and extraordinary life. But while he is often characterised as an outsider, he was surprisingly engaged with the avant garde art movements of his time. He exhibited with the Surrealists, befriended artists from Marcel Duchamp to Robert Motherwell and continues to influence art today.
-
Find out more
Find out more in our blog Joseph Cornell: A beginner’s guide.
-
![Joseph Cornell, Untitled [Sagittarius, Scorpio, and Lupus Constellations]](https://d1inegp6v2yuxm.cloudfront.net/royal-academy/image/upload/c_limit,cs_tinysrgb,dn_72,dpr_auto,f_auto,fl_progressive.keep_iptc,w_350/nthv6mlasr4lef4q1kfj.jpg)
-
Related articles
-
RA Exhibitions
> 6 years ago
Odd couples: Artists you never knew were friends
In autumn 2017, we explore the little-known relationship between two of modern art’s greatest masters – Salvador Dalí and Marcel Duchamp. Here, we take a look at their peculiar friendship, and five other artist pairs you would never have guessed.
-
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Joseph Cornell: podcast round-up
From a curatorial introduction to the work of Joseph Cornell, to in-depth discussions of the artist’s relationship to Surrealism, here are three essential podcasts.
-
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Joseph Cornell, Surrealism and time
Listen to a discussion exploring Joseph Cornell’s relationship with Surrealism, his engagement with the concept of time and the ongoing dialogue in his work between the ephemeral and the eternal.
-
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Fun for kids: make a box like Cornell
We invited families to create their own shadow boxes inspired by the work of Cornell. Here’s how to do it…
-
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Inside Joseph Cornell’s studio
Packed full with “sketchboxes” and folders, carefully arranged in his own unique filing system, Joseph Cornell’s studio was like a laboratory for his art experiments. The curator of our show takes us inside.
-
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Listening to Cornell’s record collection
In the first of a new Spotify series sharing the music that inspired major artists, listen to some of the tracks owned by Joseph Cornell.
-
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Sir Peter Blake in conversation with Tim Marlow
Celebrated British artist Sir Peter Blake tells Tim Marlow why the work of Joseph Cornell has fascinated him throughout his career.
-
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
From Dalí to Warhol: Joseph Cornell’s artist friends
Often misunderstood as an outsider, Cornell’s contacts read like a Who’s Who of the New York art scene. The curator of our exhibition introduces the gang.
-
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Inside the show: Joseph Cornell
Take a look inside the exhibition ‘Joseph Cornell: Wanderlust’ in these short video clips with our curators.
-
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Was Joseph Cornell an outsider artist?
An avid collector who defied categorisation and never spent a night away from home, Cornell also exhibited with the biggest names of his day. So what makes an artist an outsider artist? Five experts discuss.
-
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Video: How Joseph Cornell became an artist
The curator of our Cornell exhibition describes how this singular artist’s life in early 20th century New York shaped his first forays into the art world.
-
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Joseph Cornell: a beginner’s guide
This July, the Royal Academy opens a landmark exhibition devoted to the beguiling works of Joseph Cornell – one of the most original artists of the 20th century.
-
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
How to be an armchair voyager like Cornell
A unique figure in American art, Joseph Cornell worked in his own, extraordinary medium – the shadow box. Now we’re inviting you to capture your dreams in boxes too, in our Instagram challenge.
-
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Joseph Cornell and his poets
The Ted Hughes Poetry Prize-nominated author and leader of our Joseph Cornell-inspired short course explores the poets whose writings had a profound effect on the artist.
-
RA Exhibitions
< 8 years ago
Joseph Cornell: Pioneer of assemblage art
Joseph Cornell created curious worlds of long ago and far away in his boxes of found objects. We examine the work of this American trailblazer ahead of his RA exhibition.
-
RA Recommends
< 8 years ago
Our pick of this week’s art events: 1 – 7 May
From Fiona Tan’s representational films to Idris Khan’s abstract paintings and drawings, here are five top shows to see this week.
-
RA Exhibitions
> 8 years ago
Joseph Cornell: the story so far
Next year’s exhibition of Joseph Cornell will give a unique opportunity to view the magical works of this incomparable artist. We caught up with curator Sarah Lea to learn about the genesis of the show.
-
-
-
Talks and tours
Get more out of the exhibition
Exhibition tours
45 minutes, free with an exhibition ticket, no booking required
2.30pm Tuesdays, 7pm Fridays (7 July – 18 September)
-
-
-
Joseph Cornell: Wanderlust
Exhibition in focus guide
This in-depth and illustrated guide is perfect for teachers and students discussing Joseph Cornell: Wanderlust from the classroom.
Written specifically for school students, the guide contains biographical information about Joseph Cornell alongside a detailed explanation of his works.
-
-
Shop the Joseph Cornell exhibition range
-
'Joseph Cornell: Wanderlust' Exhibition poster
Take home the official exhibition poster as a memento of this quirky and curious exhibition.
-
Vintage hummingbird necklace
Take inspiration from Cornell’s love of antiques with this vintage-effect hummingbird necklace on a 24" brass chain.
-
'A Parrot for Juan Gris' notebook
Write down your thoughts, notes and ideas in this pocket sized notebook featuring A Parrot for Juan Gris on the front cover.
-
