The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 13, 2026

A vertically oriented black ink etching on cream paper depicts three interlocking, abstract figures. On our left, a solid black form with a pointed head leans inward. To our right, two pale, fluid shapes curve and overlap, one featuring a small circular eye. A dense web of fine, cross-hatched lines textures the entire background, creating expressive shadows. Hand-signed and numbered in the lower margin, the print sits on thick, deckle-edged paper.

Dangerous Liaisons

1947

Brunidor Editions, New York

France

etching

Plate: 29.7 x 22.3 cm (11 11/16 x 8 3/4 in.); Sheet: 42 x 32.6 cm (16 9/16 x 12 13/16 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2024.88

Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This print belongs to a series that was published by Brunidor Editions, founded by Robert Altmann, a collector and publisher who fled Europe due to antisemitism during World War I.

Description

This print was created during a period that Max Ernst spent in New York at the start of the Second World War. Itexemplifies the biomorphic surrealism that the artist favored around this time in its presentation of several intertwined figures that vaguely resemble both humans and birds. Ermst produced prints at various points throughout his career, and this example was facilitated as part of a group project led by art critic Nicholas Calas. The writer identified seven prominent Surrealist artists to work with master printer Stanley William Hayter at his New York print shop, Atelier 17.

?–?
Roger Passeron [b. 1920]
?–2024
(Pace African & Oceanic Art, New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)
September 9, 2024–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
{{cite web|title=Dangerous Liaisons|url=false|author=Max Ernst, Atelier 17, Stanley William Hayter, Brunidor Editions, New York|year=1947|access-date=13 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2024.88