Paul DelvauxBelgian, 1897–1994Sketchbook
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Sketchbook” now? Collection: The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Not on view at present. Checked September 22, 2026.
New York, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- Source
- The museum
Details
- Accession number
- 1230.1964.10
In the catalog
Sources
- The Museum of Modern Art
- Image: The Museum of Modern Art — © the artist or rights holder
In the life of Paul Delvaux
The whole life1918–1994 · Workplace
Brussels
1937
First trip to Italy
Makes his first trip to Italy and returns there the next year; mermaids and seaside scenes begin to appear in his paintings. Other accounts date his trip to Italy to 1939.
July 1937
Marries Suzanne Purnal
Marries Suzanne Purnal; the artist later said it was purely a marriage of convenience.
1938
The International Surrealist Exhibition in Paris
Takes part in the International Surrealist Exhibition in Paris, organized by André Breton and Paul Éluard. Although he associates for a time with the Belgian surrealist group, he does not consider himself a Surrealist in the strict, scholastic sense of the word.
1940
The occupation of Belgium: eight days in Pas-de-Calais
When Germany invades and occupies Belgium, Delvaux retreats to Pas-de-Calais with his aunts for eight days, then returns to Brussels. He spends the war years quietly at home, continuing to paint but exhibiting nothing in Belgium.
January 1945
A major retrospective at the Palais des Beaux-Arts
In January a major retrospective of 57 large canvases opens at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Public and critical reception is mixed, divided between admiration and incomprehension.
