De ou par Marcel Duchamp ou Rrose Sélavy, Boîte-en-Valise (From or by Marcel Duchamp or Rrose Sélavy, Box in a Valise)

Spurred into action by Germany’s invasion of France during World War II, Marcel Duchamp created scaled-down versions of his artworks that could fit into small, portable suitcases. To gather the necessary materials, Duchamp posed as a cheese salesman and smuggled supplies across Nazi check-points in Paris and back to his studio.

The concept of the La Boîte-en-valise (box in a suitcase) draws on the history and compact form of traveling museums and cabinets of curiosities. Interested in the concept of reproduction, Duchamp created twenty deluxe copies of the Box that were housed in a leather suitcase, and more than three hundred iterations without the leather box that were gradually released over time to art collectors and patrons around the world. The Art Institute’s version is the first he completed and dedicated to Mary Reynolds, although he considered the entire project as one cohesive artwork.