Surf Birds

between 1940 and 1950

Morris Graves American, 1910-2001

Not On View

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

Title Surf Birds

Artwork Date between 1940 and 1950

Artist Morris Graves

Life Dates 1910-2001

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. American

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Gouache and watercolor applied to recto and verso on dark yellow wove paper; sheet is crinkled intentionally

Dimensions Sheet: 64 13/16 × 75 1/2 inches (164.6 × 191.8 cm) Framed: 30 3/8 × 40 3/8 × 1 1/2 inches (77.2 × 102.6 × 3.8 cm)

Classification Drawings

Department Prints, Drawings & Photographs

Credit Gift of Robert H. Tannahill

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 54.461

Markings

Signed Signed, lower right: M. Graves

Inscriptions Inscribed, in pencil, vertically, upper left corner: 28 x 33

Provenance

Frank Crowninshield. Robert H. Tannahill [1893-1969] (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, USA)

1954-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

Bulletin of the DIA 35, no. 1 (1955-56): 20-21 (ill.).

Morris Graves. Exh. cat., St. Paul Art Center. St. Paul, 1963, no. 6.

Morris Graves Exhibition. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts and Arts Club of Chicago. Detroit and Chicago, 1943, no. 14.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Morris Graves, Surf Birds, between 1940 and 1950, gouache and watercolor applied to recto and verso on dark yellow wove paper; sheet is crinkled intentionally. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Robert H. Tannahill, 54.461.