René MagritteBelgian, 1898–1967The Menaced Assassin
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “The Menaced Assassin” now? The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, Floor 5, 517, New York. Yes, on view now. Checked September 22, 2026.
Closing soon· until 5:30 PM
On public display.
- Checked
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
The Menaced Assassin (French: L'Assassin menacé) is an oil on canvas painting by Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte, from 1927. It is held at the Museum of Modern Art, in New York.
Details
- Accession number
- 247.1966
In the catalog
Sources
- The Museum of Modern Art
- Image: The Museum of Modern Art — © the artist or rights holder
In the life of René Magritte
The whole life1925
A contract with the Brussels gallery Le Centaure
A three-year contract with Galerie Le Centaure freed him from advertising work and let him devote himself entirely to painting.
1927
First solo exhibition — and a failure
His first solo exhibition opened in Brussels; the reviews were poor, and Magritte was depressed by the failure.
1927
Moves to Paris after the failed exhibition
Depressed by the failure of the exhibition, he left for Paris with Georgette and stayed there for about three years.
1927
Meets Breton and joins the Surrealist circle
In Paris he became friends with André Breton and joined his Surrealist circle, where he kept his individuality yet found his recognisable style. He was not afraid to argue with the others: he disliked psychoanalysis, especially in art, regarding his own work as philosophical and poetic rather than psychological.
1929
A contract with the Goemans Gallery in Paris
In 1929 the Goemans Gallery in Paris put Magritte under contract, together with Jean Arp and Yves Tanguy.
15 December 1929
The essay “Words and Images” in the Surrealists’ journal
On 15 December 1929 the last issue, No. 12, of La Révolution surréaliste carried Magritte’s essay “Les mots et les images”, in which words play with images in step with his “The Treachery of Images”.
