Again, the Gemini Are in the Orchard

Ask anything

• Arianna asked

  What's the value of "Again, the Gemini are in the Orchard"? And what's the meaning behind this painting?

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Hi Arianna, For the value of artworks by specific artists, you could consult Artprice and search for Leonora Carrington. They will give you the maximum price realised for her painting and also show graphics about the evolution of her prices. You will see that 2019 was relatively favourable (compared to now). The market value now is about 8 to 10 times the value of 2019. And about the meaning of the painting: After Carrington settled in Mexico, in the beginning of the 1940s, she formed a tight group with other female painters like Remedios Varo and Alice Rahorn. They were very much interested in magic, alchemy, old Mexican mythologies and especially in a ancient society based on female powers and practices. To decipher the meaning of this particular painting will take a lot of study and research, there are so many details, but in general you can see that there are different realities depicted in a way as if they are connected. There are many double figures too, which might indicate that she wanted to stress that nothing is singular, every creature is accompanied by a double which is the same and yet different. Kind regards, Els

• Arianna asked

  Hi, I'm Arianna and I come from Italy. I was wondering if you knew when this painting was first exhibited

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Hi Arianna, this painting was acquired by Edward James directly from the artist and was never exhibited during his lifetime (until 1984), nor after when it was held by the Edward James Foundation and a private collector. When the museum aspired to acquire it, the painting was exhibited as part of the Boijmans collection. This was in 2018. In 2019 it was shown in an exhibition at the Cobra Museum in Amstelveen and after this in the touring exhibition of the Surrealism collection in Wellington, Seoul, Mexico-City and now in Milan. Kind regards, Els

• Irene asked

  Greetings from Italy! I am a high school student who has been assigned an artwork evaluation project: we have to estimate the value of a painting as if we were critics, based on the biography of the author, the exhibits and galleries where such painting was exposed, the meaning of this painting, whatever critics had to say about this and if its ever been on auction... I chose this particular painting in your collection and was wondering whether or not you could offer some exclusive informations or details? I would like to thank you in advance for reading this question, it would be a pleasure for me to learn more!

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Hi Irene, that is a nice assignment and you have chosen a very special work, one of my favourites. You will be able to find a lot of information about the artist, Leonora Carrington and very little about its provenance and exhibitions. The reason for this is that 1) the painting came directly from the studio in the collection of the British collector Edward James, who kept it until his death in 1984. Then it became the property of the Edward James Foundation. When the Foundation needed money, I do not know when this was, it was sold to a private collector through a gallery in Madrid (Galeria Theo). The museum acquired the painting quite recently, on May 9 2019. 2) until recently the women that were part of the Surrealist group were not taken very seriously as artists., at least not here in the Western world. Instead, they were seen as 'muses' who inspired their male colleagues. Leonora Carrington was British but went to the United States when WWII broke out and from there she ended up in Mexico. There, she was taken seriously and formed a tight group with other female painters like Remedios Varo and Alice Rahorn. They were very much interested in magic, alchemy, old Mexican mythologies and especially in a ancient society based on female powers and practices. To decipher the meaning of this particular painting will take a lot of study and research, there are so many details, but in general you can see that there are different realities depicted in a way as if they are connected. There are many double figures too. I have been thinking about this and they might indicate that creatures are not singular, but every creature is accompanied by a double which is the same and yet different. Good luck and kind regards, Els

• Sarah asked

  Greetings from Canada!
  
  I was wondering when Leonora Carrington’s “Again, the Gemini Are in the Orchard” will be viewable at the museum by early October? My fingers are crossed that I will be able to view this enchanting masterpiece by such an amazing female surrealist.

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Hi Sarah,
  
  Our collection of Surrealist artworks has been traveling quite a bit the last few years. I think they are almost coming back from Mexico City and might still be at the depot in October. But be mindful before you visit, the museum is closed for renovations at the moment. We have an open accessible depot next to it, but the collection is not exhibited here as it is in a museum. There is a possibility that you can see her work, but there is really no guarantee. I hope you still come and visit though!
  
  Best, Lisa

• Amanda Ball asked

  Is it possible to purchase a good quality print of Again the Gemini are in the Orchard. I have just seen this wonderful painting at Te Papa Wellington. Kind regards Amanda

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Dear Amanda, so wonderful to hear you liked the exhibition at Te Papa Museum! At the moment our museum building is closed for reconstructions and unfortunately there's only a small online webshop available on our website. There were no prints for sale in Wellington? Otherwise, you can look online through the artist name + prints. I can find a few websites that sell prints. Best, Lisa Heinis