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Marcel Duchamp's Boîte-en-valise: The Museum of MetamorphosisMain MenuIntroductionThe Museum of MetamorphosisCatalogue essayBoîtes in Museum Collections around the World…and OnlineFurther Reading[bibliography page]Lauren Rooney597ff088ef1db884d9e8445c7e06bd004b6c1250
The Seven Series of Boîtes
12023-05-14T06:35:47-07:00Lauren Rooney597ff088ef1db884d9e8445c7e06bd004b6c12504270020gallery2023-05-15T08:00:40-07:00Lauren Rooney597ff088ef1db884d9e8445c7e06bd004b6c1250Duchamp issued his Boîtes, numbering between 296 and 311 in total, in seven editions, conventionally identified with the letters A-G: one deluxe edition (series A, issued 1941-1949) and six standard editions. For each standard series, he selected a different color scheme, making them fairly simple to distinguish from one another. Scroll through the gallery of sample Boîtes to read about the particular features of each series and the modifications that Duchamp made to the Boîte between editions.
1media/Screen Shot 2023-03-01 at 9.22.57 PM_thumb.png2023-04-15T09:13:15-07:00De ou par Marcel Duchamp ou Rrose Sélavy [Boîte, Series E]9Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), 1935-1941 [1963 edition], Mixed media, box, 37.9 x 40.5 x 9 cm., Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, ILmedia/Screen Shot 2023-03-01 at 9.22.57 PM.pngplain2023-04-17T02:46:34-07:00
1media/Screen Shot 2023-05-13 at 5.22.18 PM_thumb.png2023-05-13T15:23:39-07:00Boîte (Series D, 1961) at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, CA5Tombstone: Marcel Duchamp (French, 1887-1968), Boîte-en-valise (Box in a Suitcase), 1961 (original 1941), Cardboard box containing 68 miniature replicas and reproductions, Edition of 30, Series D of, 16 x 14-3 / 4 x 3-1 / 2 in. (40.6 x 37.5 x 8.9 cm), Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, CAmedia/Screen Shot 2023-05-13 at 5.22.18 PM.pngplain2023-05-14T09:11:14-07:00
1media/Screen Shot 2023-05-14 at 7.11.40 AM_thumb.png2023-05-14T05:13:49-07:00Boîte (Series F, 1966) at the Philadelphia Museum of Art - Gift of Anne d'Harnoncourt, 19944Tombstone: Marcel Duchamp (American (born France), 1887-1968), From or by Marcel Duchamp or Rrose Sélavy (Box in a Valise), [de ou par Marcel Duchamp ou Rrose Sélavy (Boîte-en-valise)], 1935-1941, 1963-1965 (contents); Series F, 1966 edition, Red leather valise containing miniature replicas and color reproductions of works by Duchamp made of various media on various supports: collotype, relief halftone, screenprint, offset lithograph, photograph with surface coating, printed color and hand coloring on paper, cardboard, clear acetate, vinyl, glass, and ceramic, Valise (closed): 16 x 15 x 4 inches (40.6 x 38.1 x 10.2 cm), Assembled in Paris, Case made in Milan, Gift of Anne d'Harnoncourt, 1994, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PAmedia/Screen Shot 2023-05-14 at 7.11.40 AM.pngplain2023-05-14T09:17:35-07:00
1media/Screen Shot 2023-05-13 at 4.09.26 PM_thumb.png2023-05-13T14:13:33-07:00Boîte-en-valise II/XX, at the National Galleries, Scotland4Duchamp inscribed this Boîte-en-valise to Surrealist-affiliated artist and writer Georges Hugnet in May 1941. Its "original" is a color guide for the reproduction of The Large Glass.media/Screen Shot 2023-05-13 at 4.09.26 PM.pngplain2023-05-14T16:09:53-07:00
1media/Screen Shot 2023-05-14 at 7.57.55 AM_thumb.png2023-05-14T06:01:41-07:00Boîte (Series C, 1961) at the Centre Pompidou2Tombstone, translated from French: Marcel Duchamp (1887, France - 1968, France), La Boîte-en-valise, 1936-1941, Object; Cardboard box folding into three parts, covered with beige cloth, containing miniature replicas of works, 69 items (photographs and documents, facsimiles); Cardboard, wood, paper, plastic; 40 x 37,5 x 8,2 cm; Série C, assembled by Iliazd in 1958; Purchase, 1964; Centre Pompidou, Parismedia/Screen Shot 2023-05-14 at 7.57.55 AM.pngplain2023-05-14T09:26:19-07:00
1media/Screen Shot 2023-05-14 at 7.57.41 AM_thumb.png2023-05-14T06:47:37-07:00Boîte (Series B) at the Centre Pompidou2Tombstone, translated from French: Marcel Duchamp (1887, France - 1968, France), 1936-1941, La Boîte-en-valise; Object; Brown leather attaché case containing a system of elements folding out into space, including reproductions and miniature objects which together (68 or 69 items) constitute a scaled-down museum representing the nearly complete œuvre of Marcel Duchamp between 1910 and 1937. Black and white and color reproductions on paper, sometimes varnished, cut or stamped, on acetate, photographs and miniatures in glass, oilcloth and porcelain; Supports: plywood, leather, cardboard, copper; Works: black and white or color reproductions on paper (varnished, cut, and stamped) and on acetate, photographs, miniatures in glass, oilcloth and porcelain; 40,5 x 37 x 9,5 cm; Series B, assembled in New York during the war by Joseph Cornell, Xenia Cage and Patricia Matta Cane. Contains 68 items? Acquisition, 2003, Centre Pompidou, Parismedia/Screen Shot 2023-05-14 at 7.57.41 AM.pngplain2023-05-14T09:31:03-07:00
1media/Screen Shot 2023-05-14 at 8.48.50 PM_thumb.png2023-05-14T18:55:03-07:00Boîte (Series G, 1968) at the Musée d'art moderne de Paris1Marcel Duchamp (Blainville-Crevon, 28-07-1887 - Neuilly-sur-Seine, 02-10-1968), La Boîte-en-valise, 1936-1968, Cardboard box with pull-outs, covered in green leather on the outside and in green linen on the inside, containing miniature replicas of works, 80 items (photographs, documents, objects), Musée d'Art moderne de Paris, Parismedia/Screen Shot 2023-05-14 at 8.48.50 PM.pngplain2023-05-14T18:55:04-07:00