WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Kurt Seligmann

Kurt Seligmann

Kurt Seligmann

Artist

WA-00029398

PaintingSurrealismFiguration

Representation

None documented

19

Institutional Exhibitions

73

Works in Collection

98

Assets Indexed

1

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ450110 ULAN500022797

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Surrealist Prints from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1987

No image

Dream/Reality/Dream

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1977

No image

Abstraction-Cr�ation, Art Non-Figuratif

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1977

No image

Some American Drawings: Recent Acquisitions

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1976

No image

American Prints: 1913�1963

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1974–1975

No image

Gods, Heroes, and Shepherds

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1974

No image

Dada, Surrealism and their Heritage

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1968

No image

Recent Acquisitions

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1960–1961

No image

XXVth Anniversary Exhibition: Paintings from the Museum Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1954–1955

No image

American Prints of the 20th Century

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1954

No image

Modern Art in Your Life

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1949

No image

Master Prints from the Museum Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1949

Field Verification (1 fields)

0 cross-verified · 1 single-source

LocationGallery Generic· 72%

Source Registry (4)

Christies-Artsyhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/kurt-seligmann
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
Kasminhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/kurt-seligmann
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/5337
Tier 1 · Institutional92%
Artsy (bulk)https://www.artsy.net/artist/kurt-seligmann
Tier 1 · Institutional85%

About

Why this artist matters now

Kurt Seligmann was an American painter and printmaker who synthesized Surrealist automatism with Jungian psychology, creating densely layered compositions that merged abstraction and figuration. Working in painting, etching, and collage, he transformed psychological states into complex visual narratives rooted in mythological imagery. Active in the postwar period, Seligmann treated the unconscious as a generative space rather than a subject to be illustrated, developing a distinctly personal approach that moved beyond orthodox Surrealist doctrine.

Source: Christies Artsy · Trust score: 100% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Surrealism

Medium

Painting

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern ArtNew York

Canonical record

Artworks (73)

The King

1960 · Oil on canvas

24 1/4 x 20" (61.4 x 50.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Metamorphosis

1959 · Oil and tempera on canvas

152.4 × 182.9 cm (60 × 72 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Inventors

1958 · Oil on canvas

121.9 × 152.4 cm (48 × 60 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled

1955 · Crayons on ivory wove paper, laid down on ivory wove paper

73.8 × 58.5 cm (29 1/16 × 23 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Happy Birthday to Earle and all Good Wishes From Both of Us

Happy Birthday to Earle and all Good Wishes From Both of Us

1955 · Lithograph on cream wove paper

Plate: 35.4 × 49.7 cm (13 15/16 × 19 5/8 in.); Sheet: 48.5 × 66 cm (19 1/8 × 26 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Exorcism

1954 · Ink, gouache, wash, and resin on paper

28 1/8 x 34 1/8" (71.5 x 86.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1952 · Blue ballpoint pen on paper

10 in. × 7 3/8 in. (25.4 × 18.8 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Baal and Astarte

Baal and Astarte

1952 · Brush and black ink on white wove paper

68.6 × 57.3 cm (27 1/16 × 22 9/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Part of a Garden

Part of a Garden

1952 · Oil on canvas

89.4 × 89.5 cm (35 3/16 × 35 1/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Gray and White

1951 · Pen and brush and black ink, with brown wash and white gouache, on ivory wove paper, laid on ivory wove paper

58.5 × 73.7 cm (23 1/16 × 29 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Souvenir of September 26, 1951

Souvenir of September 26, 1951

1951 · Etching on paper

Plate: 34 × 48.5 cm (13 7/16 × 19 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Clio

1950 · Oil on canvas

57.2 × 39.1 cm (22 1/2 × 15 3/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Meditation

1950 · Etching and aquatint

plate: 19 11/16 x 13 7/8" (50 x 35.3 cm); sheet: 21 15/16 x 15 1/2" (55.7 x 39.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Exotic garden

1949 · Oil on canvas

132 × 134.9 cm (52 × 53 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Figures on Parade

Figures on Parade

1949 · Black ink over graphite with white wash on ivory card

57.3 × 72.7 cm (22 9/16 × 28 5/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

1948 · Graphite and watercolor on paper

11 7/8 in. × 9 in. (30.1 × 22.9 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Magnetic Mountain

Magnetic Mountain

1948 · Oil on canvas

162.6 × 188 cm (64 × 74 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Acteon from Brunidor Portfolio, No. 1

Acteon from Brunidor Portfolio, No. 1

1947 · Etching from a portfolio of five etchings (one with engraving) and two lithographs

plate: 11 3/4 x 8 13/16" (29.8 x 22.4 cm); sheet: 16 9/16 x 13 1/16" (42 x 33.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Study for Prometheus

1946 · Pen and black ink on paper

24 × 29 in. (61 × 73.7 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Intruder

1946 · Watercolor, gouache, and pen and black ink on ivory wove paper, laid down on ivory wove paper

43 × 55.7 cm (16 15/16 × 21 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Four Figures Walking

Four Figures Walking

1945 · Pen and black ink on off-white wove paper, laid down on off-white wove paper

59.2 × 73.9 cm (23 5/16 × 29 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Myth of Oedipus: The Riddle

1944 · etching

Sheet: 57.3 x 39 cm (22 9/16 x 15 3/8 in.); Platemark: 44.8 x 29.6 cm (17 5/8 x 11 5/8 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

The Myth of Oedipus: Oedipus at Colonus

1944 · etching

Sheet: 57.8 x 39.3 cm (22 3/4 x 15 1/2 in.); Platemark: 45 x 29.8 cm (17 11/16 x 11 3/4 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

The Myth of Oedipus: The Childhood of Oedipus

1944 · etching

Sheet: 57.6 x 39.2 cm (22 11/16 x 15 7/16 in.); Platemark: 45.1 x 29.8 cm (17 3/4 x 11 3/4 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

View all 73 artworks →

Artwork sources (4)

73 published of 95 catalogued · 58 with image

Art Institute Chicago
42 published42 img
MoMA
22 publishedof 44 catalogued16 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
6 published
The Met
3 published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 6)

6 entries · 1 sources

The Myth of Oedipus: Oedipus at Colonus
1944 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
VVV Portfolio: Phantom of the Past
1943 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
The Myth of Oedipus: The Riddle
1944 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
The Myth of Oedipus: The Sphinx I
1944 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
The Myth of Oedipus: The Slaying of Laius
1944 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
The Myth of Oedipus: The Childhood of Oedipus
1944 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

Untitled (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

4

Movements2

Surrealism Figuration

Collections2

Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern Art

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US