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Musical Chairs, Dorothea Tanning, 1951
Dorothea Tanning, portraitDorothea TanningAmerican, 1910–2012

Musical Chairs

1951 · Painting

Can I see it?

Yes, on view now

Where is “Musical Chairs” now? The Cleveland Museum of Art, 226B American Modern, Cleveland. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Room226B American Modern

On public display.

Checked
In this state since
Source
The museum
On the mapMuseum page

About the painting

In this surreal composition, a pre-adolescent girl—whose mismatched clothing suggests she has been playing dress-up—interrupts her game of musical chairs by daydreaming into a realm where imagination reigns free. Defying logic, she sinks into a sea of fabric that in turn swells up behind her into a haphazard arrangement of folds. Artist Dorothea Tanning started her career as a fashion illustrator, launching a lifelong interest in the expressive qualities of cloth.

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Details

Accession number
2024.68

In the catalog

PaintingsOilAmerican paintingPost-war art20th centuryAmerica

Sources

More by Dorothea Tanning

All works
Plate from Le Surréalisme en 1947, Dorothea Tanning, 1947

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1947 · Not on view · The Museum of Modern Art

On Time Off Time, Dorothea Tanning, 1948

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1948 · Not on view · The Museum of Modern Art

First Peril (Premier péril) from The 7 Spectral Perils (Les 7 périls spectraux), Dorothea Tanning, 1950

First Peril (Premier péril) from The 7 Spectral Perils (Les 7 périls spectraux)

1950 · Not on view · The Museum of Modern Art

Sixth Peril (Sixième péril) from The 7 Spectral Perils (Les 7 périls spectraux), Dorothea Tanning, 1950

Sixth Peril (Sixième péril) from The 7 Spectral Perils (Les 7 périls spectraux)

1950 · Not on view · The Museum of Modern Art

Fourth Peril (Quatrième péril) from The 7 Spectral Perils (Les 7 périls spectraux), Dorothea Tanning, 1950

Fourth Peril (Quatrième péril) from The 7 Spectral Perils (Les 7 périls spectraux)

1950 · Not on view · The Museum of Modern Art

Second Peril (Deuxième péril) from The 7 Spectral Perils (Les 7 périls spectraux), Dorothea Tanning, 1950

Second Peril (Deuxième péril) from The 7 Spectral Perils (Les 7 périls spectraux)

1950 · Not on view · The Museum of Modern Art

Seventh Peril (Septième péril) from The 7 Spectral Perils (Les 7 périls spectraux), Dorothea Tanning, 1950

Seventh Peril (Septième péril) from The 7 Spectral Perils (Les 7 périls spectraux)

1950 · Not on view · The Museum of Modern Art

Third Peril (Troisième péril) from The 7 Spectral Perils (Les 7 périls spectraux), Dorothea Tanning, 1950

Third Peril (Troisième péril) from The 7 Spectral Perils (Les 7 périls spectraux)

1950 · Not on view · The Museum of Modern Art

In the same room · 226B American Modern, The Cleveland Museum of Art

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