Untitled (Hôtel de la Duchesse-Anne)

This box has formal similarities to Yellow Chamber in its use of white panels and in its balance between asymmetry and regularity. It also includes similar components: the bird, the metal springs, the ring, and the metal rod. But the idea of travel is more strongly evoked here, not least through the contrast between the white interior of the box and the tiny, brilliantly colored stamps, which are colorful and exotic in both a metaphoric and literal sense. The contrast between their small scale and the expanse of whiteness also suggests geographic distance. The idea of the box as a surrogate for travel is indeed very present here. Some of the openings in the white lattice at the right contain bingo chips, which conjure ocean voyages where deck games and gambling played a large part in the entertainment provided on board. Other lattice openings contain wood blocks with constellations on a blue background, which similarly recall navigation. The parrot contributes to the exotic atmosphere and introduces an element of tension, as it suggests both the freedom of travel and a bird caged or trapped. A coiled spring curls over the bird’s head to form a target like shape, while the bird itself seems to eye the butterfly and beetles on the stamps as if they might become its lunch.

The names of two hotels are included in this box: the Hotel des Voyageurs in Brest, a port in Brittany, and the Hotel dc la Duchesse-Anne in Nantes. The latter may have appealed to Cornell because of its association with the Surrealists: Andre Breton had spent part of World War I in Nantes, where he met Jacques Vache, whose anarchic humor had a strong influence on him. The name Anne also recalls one of Cornell’s favorite heroines, Thomas De Quincey’s Ann (see Ann—in Memory).

— Entry, Dawn Ades, Surrealist Art: The Lindy and Edwin Bergman Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago, 1997, p. 85.