Girl Born without a Mother

ca. 1914–15

Not on view

Picabia returned to New York in 1915 and resumed contact with artists around Alfred Stieglitz, who were working on 291, a large-format avant-garde magazine. This drawing was one of the first that Picabia contributed to the journal. With its schematic depiction of a coiled spring alongside more organic forms, it reflects the artist’s interest in mechanical imagery, or what photographer and writer Paul Haviland described in Picabia’s work as the “machinomorphic.” It also conveys his contact with Marcel Duchamp, who had arrived in New York at about the same time; together, and with Man Ray, they would lead the rebellious antiwar art movement known as Dada from Europe to New York.

Artwork Details

Title: Girl Born without a Mother
Artist: Francis Picabia (French, Paris 1879–1953 Paris)
Date: ca. 1914–15
Medium: Pen and black ink on found hotel stationery paper
Dimensions: 10 3/8 × 8 7/16 in. (26.3 × 21.4 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949
Object Number: 49.70.18
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

By Francis Picabia

In the same medium

From the same time and place

L’Elegance (Woman with a Parasol), Francis Picabia French, Ripolin on canvas — L’Elegance (Woman with a Parasol)
Francis Picabia
ca. 1924–25

Saint Peter's Seen From the Pincio, Rome, Henri-Joseph Harpignies French, Pen and black ink, brush, gray and blue-gray washes — Saint Peter's Seen From the Pincio, Rome
Henri-Joseph Harpignies
1856

The Parade, Si Lewen American, Manufactured charcoal, pencil, crayon, ink, scratching, and hand applied gesso on paperboard — The Parade
Si Lewen
ca. 1950

Star Dancer and Her School of Dance, Francis Picabia French, Watercolor and charcoal on paper — Star Dancer and Her School of Dance
Francis Picabia
1913

Costume Bell, metal, Possibly French — Costume Bell
Possibly French
19th century

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