Pocket Chess Set

Currently not on view

Pocket Chess Set

1943

Marcel Duchamp (American (born France), 1887–1968)

Duchamp created this pocket chess set in 1943, shortly after he fled from wartorn France to New York. Planning to produce and market hundreds of them to chess enthusiasts with the guarantee that the pinned pieces would remain in place during travel, he exhibited it as a work of art at The Imagery of Chess, an exhibition he coorganized in December 1944. After his nomadic expedition, sailing from southern France to New York and living with friends before finding his own studio, Duchamp was keenly aware of wartime and developed this reliable travel chess set as a solution for such exile.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Pocket Chess Set

Date:

1943

Artist:

Marcel Duchamp (American (born France), 1887–1968)

Medium:

Leather, celluloid, and pins

Dimensions:

6 5/16 x 4 1/8 inches (16 x 10.5 cm)

Classification:

Sculpture

Credit Line:

The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950

Accession Number:

1950-134-949

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Currently not on view