Tanguy, Yves (ēv täNgē`), 1900–1955, French surrealist painter. At first a merchant seaman, he saw a picture by Chirico in 1923 and instantly decided to take up painting. He created vast imaginary dream landscapes, in which float strange, often amorphous, objects and personages—all meticulously painted. His spontaneous, subconscious imagery remained curiously static throughout his career. Tanguy moved to the United States in 1939. A number of his paintings are in the Museum of Modern Art, New York City.

Bibliography

See study by K. Schmidt, ed. (1982).

Tanguy, Yves

(born Jan. 5, 1900, Paris, France—died Jan. 15, 1955 Waterbury, Conn., U.S.) French painter. In 1923, after serving in the merchant marine, he was inspired to start painting when he saw the works of Giorgio de Chirico, though he had no formal art training. He joined the Surrealist group in 1925 and participated in all their major exhibitions. He developed a unique style, reminiscent of Salvador Dalí's, depicting strange, amorphous creatures and unidentifiable objects set in barren, brightly lit landscapes with infinite horizons. Despite their smooth, painstaking detail, his pictures have a timeless, dreamlike quality (e.g., The Invisibles, 1951). He emigrated to the U.S. in 1939.

Tanguy, Yves (1900–57) painter; born in Paris, France. A former merchant marine officer, he became a self-taught surrealistic painter (c. 1925). He emigrated to America (1939) with his wife, Kay Sage, and lived in Woodbury, Conn. He is known for his mysterious and fantastic paintings, such as Fear (1949).