Locating Surrealist painting, "Just Before the War with the Potatoes"

[Elis M. Windham]

I am going quite mad. I have spent years of my life trying to locate
my favorite painting and I can't find zip on the Internet. I last saw
it in 1970, in a tiny book about 5 x 7 ish,hardback, titled
--Surrealism-- with a Tanguy painting on the cover. (Can't find
picture of book which would have been written about that time or
before to even determine whether it was the right book.) Anyway, the
painting is called "Just Before the War with the Potatoes". I don't
recall either the artist or the date of the painting. Thought it might
be either Magritte or Delvaux, but can't track it. It is an almost
photographically realistic painting of about four or five potatoes in
a field. Behind one of them is a vermilion flag. The sky is filled
with darkening clouds. That's essentially it. Most silently
threatening work of art I have ever seen and the most profound and I
can't find a shred of evidence it ever existed. If anyone can help me
I would be more than greatly appreciative.

Thanks

f

[Dilettante]

pav...@yahoo.com (Elis M. Windham) wrote in message news:<23549d6.03090...@posting.google.com>...

Offhand, does not sound like Tanguy, or de Chirico, or Delvaux (who
did dream scenes). It is the sort of joke that Magritte did, but I
cannot think of anything by him. You might reseach Max Ernst, who did
funny absurd paintings with realistic images, such as "Beast of the
Celebes."
The Dada movement, founded by Tristan Szara (sp), related to
surrealism, may be another avenue of research.

Dilettante