Max Ernst | Untitled (ca. 1949) | Available for Sale

A rare miniature gouache on paper by Surrealist pioneer Max Ernst, titled 'Untitled' (ca. 1949), has been made available for sale through PM Gallery in Paris. The unique work, measuring only 3.1 x 2.85 cm, is presented in a bespoke silver and 18K gold frame adorned with ruby beads, created by the artist and jeweler Marcial Berro. The piece boasts a distinguished provenance, having previously belonged to the influential Parisian gallery owner Édouard Loeb and featured in the 1970 retrospective at the Württemberg Art Association.

This listing highlights the niche market for 'wearable art' and the intersection of fine art and jewelry, a category that has seen increased interest from collectors of Surrealist ephemera. As a blue-chip artist with an auction record of $24.4 million, Ernst���s smaller, more intimate works offer a different entry point into his personal mythology and automatist techniques. The inclusion of the work in the Werner Spies catalog raisonné and its history with Loeb solidify its status as a significant, albeit diminutive, artifact of mid-century Surrealism.