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Haunted House

A work made of oil on canvas.

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  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

1930

Artist:

Morris Kantor (American, born Minsk, Russian Empire, now Belarus, 1896–1974)

About this artwork

Morris Kantor drew inspiration from the material culture of historical New England—ladder-back chairs, colonial portraiture, marine painting, wallpaper—in this fantastical rendering of a supposedly haunted house in rural Massachusetts. A shadowy figure lurks at the composition’s darkened right edge, an unknown presence encroaching on the comforts of the sitting room. Kantor later recalled that such a setting, with “its peculiar moldy smell, the fading beauty of old plaster discolored by time and living … turned my imagination to the past, to the people who had lived there and gone.” A Russian immigrant, the artist engaged with the stories and objects of American history as catalysts for his Surrealist, dreamlike musings.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Morris Kantor

Title

Haunted House

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1930

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed and dated lower right: M. Kantor / 1930

Dimensions

94.3 × 84.5 cm (37 1/8 × 33 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. Frank G. Logan Purchase Prize Fund

Reference Number

1931.707

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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