Joseph Cornell: Five Things to Know

Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) was a largely self-taught artist who transformed old photographs, maps and found objects into surreal assemblages displayed in glass-fronted wooden boxes.

1 - Wes Anderson is a fan. The film director has curated a show recreating Cornell’s studio, which was in the upper floor of the family home in Flushing, Queens.

2 - Cornell lived an almost reclusive life, dedicating himself to his art while caring for his mother and brother.

3 - Turning point: in 1943, Peggy Guggenheim gave the artist his first solo show at her Art of This Century Gallery in New York.

4 - Best of friends: Yayoi Kusama met Cornell after she moved to New York in 1958. The young Japanese artist and elderly Cornell bonded over art and poetry.

5 - Record sale: Medici Slot Machine (1943) sold for $7.78m at Christie's in May 2014.

The House on Utopia Parkway: Joseph Cornell’s Studio Re-Created by Wes Anderson runs until March 14, 2026, at Gagosian in Paris.