Hands and Foot

September – December 1931

First trip to the United States: New York and Chicago

Léger spends the summer of 1931 in Austria with his friends the Murphys and from September to December makes his first trip to the United States, to New York and Chicago. His work is shown at the galleries of John Becker and Durand-Ruel.

1933

An exhibition in Zurich and a trip to Greece with Le Corbusier

In 1933 a large exhibition of Léger's work is held at the Kunsthaus in Zurich, which he attends in person. In the same year he travels with Le Corbusier to Greece for the international congress of modern architecture, and on the ship home he gives a lecture, “Architecture and Life”.

1934

Sets for the Wells film in London

In August 1934 in London Léger prepares sets for the film after H. G. Wells, “The Shape of Things to Come”; he spends the summer with the Marphys at Antibes, in September an exhibition of his work opens at the Modern Gallery in Stockholm, and at the Sorbonne he gives a lecture, “From the Acropolis to the Eiffel Tower”.

1935

Exhibitions at MoMA and the Art Institute of Chicago

In October 1935 Léger again travels to the United States, where he meets Le Corbusier; in the same year a large exhibition of his work is shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1935 he also designs the physical-culture hall at the world's fair in Brussels, built to Charlotte Perriand's design.