An Anxious Friend

late 1942

Dorothea Tanning and “Birthday”

Selecting pictures for an exhibition of women artists at Peggy’s gallery, Ernst noticed Dorothea Tanning’s Birthday. Julien Levy introduced him to the painter, and a few meetings were enough for him to fall in love.

1942

Married: Peggy Guggenheim

October 1942

“First Papers of Surrealism” and “Art of This Century”

In October 1942 the exhibition First Papers of Surrealism opened, its catalogue laid out as a list of modern myths in which “interplanetary communication” was credited to Ernst. That month Peggy Guggenheim’s gallery Art of This Century opened on 57th Street, and Ernst drew the cover of its catalogue.

1946

Married: Dorothea Tanning

October 1946

A double wedding in Hollywood with Man Ray

Ernst and Dorothea Tanning went to Hollywood to marry, asking Man Ray and his friend Juliet Browner to be their witnesses; the two decided to marry as well, and the result was a double ceremony in Beverly Hills.

1946–1953

Sedona: a house and “Capricorn” built with his own hands

Ernst built the house himself, helped by a young admirer and short of money, and made the 2.4-metre Capricorn, a seated bull-man, from empty bottles, springs and cement; the property became known as Capricorn Hill. The couple took an interest in the rites of the local Native American tribes, Ernst buying objects and masks from them, and friends visited only occasionally.