Any talk of Max Ernst's life is one that has become synonymous with scandal: of love affairs, menage-a trois, crossing borders and crossing boundaries. What better artist to collect, then one who has such a history of the outrageous attached!
The surrealist Max Ernst lends himself easily to the collector, as his main artistic interest was indeed collages, prints, and what we would now call book arts. This means that much of his work was intended to be distributed in book form, and indeed form discrete and unique objects, rather than canvases which can be reproduced, scanned, or photographed. Any serious collection of an Ernst work means, therefore, that you will own a physical (and functional) object, such as a book of poetry, a play, or a short 'guide book'.
Max Ernst was a career artist, entering art college at a young age and there developing his love for romantic poetry, modernism, and whimsy. He became interested in mental health and psychiatry, visiting asylums to study the works of art of the patients there. It was only when he was drafted to the Western Front of the First World War that, cruelly, his transformation as an artist became complete. He abandoned formalism, realism and structure, and instead his art became surreal, symbolic, lurid, and fragmentary. His work referenced sexuality often, as well as often featuring half-bird men and bird people; the significance of which that he never fully interpreted.
One of Ernst's most enduring fascinations was with the form of the collage, and he took great delight in recombining illustrations, book plates, and figures from contemporary journals and books to form his own works. For the collector, the pinnacle of this would be his five volume graphic novel, Une semaine de Bonte ('A Week of Kindness') featuring figures of reconstructed collage images that he and the poet Paul Eluard worked on before the outbreak of World War Two.
Ernst, Max Eluard. Les Malheurs Des Immortels. Libraire Six (1922). By Paul Eluard and Max Ernst. Illustrated with collages by Max Ernst.
Ernst, Max Breton. Manifeste Du Surrealisme. Poisson Soluble. Les Doucmentaires, Editions Kra (1929). Frontespiece by Max Ernst
Ernst, Max. Reve D'Une Petite Fille Qui Voulut Entrer Au Carmel. Editions Du Carrefour. Paris. (1930). 1,000 copies on 'velin teinte' with 79 plates
Ernst, Max. Une Semaine De Bonte Ou Les Peches Capitaux. Jeanne Bucher (1934). 800 copies
Ernst, Max Levy. Surrealism. Black Sun Press (1936). 1500 copies Including works by Arp, Bellmer, Breton, Calder, Cornell, Crevel, Duchamp, Eluard, Ernst, Fini, Giacometti, Klee, Magritte, Man Ray, Miro, Tanguy, Tzara, and more
Ernst, Max Kafka. Un Divertissement. GLM (1938). 400 copies with a frontispiece by Max Ernst
Ernst, Max Eluard. Misfortunes Of Immortals. Black Sun Press (1943). 610 copies illustrated by Ernst
Ernst, Max Helion. They Shall Not Have Me/Ils Ne M'Auront Pas. E.P. Dutton (1943).
Ernst, Max Eluard. Les Malheurs Des Immortels. Editions De La Revue Fontaine (1945). 1860 copies with Eluard's text and Ernst's collage constructions on the facing page
Ernst, Max Eluard. A L'Interieur De La Vue. Paris Pierre Seghers Editeur (1948). 610 copies illustrated by Ernst
Ernst, Max. Beyond Painting. New York (1948).
Ernst, Max. Cahiers D'Art 24E. Ed. Cahiers D'Art (1949).
Ernst, Max Peret. La Brebis Galante. Editions Premieres (1949). 3 coloured etchings as well as 21 illustrations with stencil colouring by Ernst
Ernst, Max Tristan. L'Antitete. L'Antitete (1949). 200 copies with 8 etchings by Max Ernst printed in black over colour
Ernst, Max Breton. Max Ernst: 30 Years Of His Work. The Copley Galleries, Beverly Hills (1949). 530 copies
Ernst, Max Breton. Almanach Surrealiste. La Nef (1950). original 3-color lithographs by Max Ernst
Ernst, Max Carroll. La Chasse Au Snark. L'Age D'Or - Henri Parisot, Paris (1950). 750 copies
Ernst, Max Savinio. Psyche. Traduit De L'Italien Par Henri Parisot. Editions Premieres (1950). 750 copies
Ernst, Max Schwitters. La Loterie Du Jardin Zoologique. Librairie Les Pas Perdus (1951). 550 copies
Ernst, Max. Sept Microbes Vus A Travers Un Temperament. Ed. Les Editions Cercle D'Art (1953).
Ernst, Max Paramythen. Galerie Der Spiegel. Koln, 1955. Galerie Der Spiegel, Koln (1955). 300 copies with collages by Ernst
Ernst, Max Waldberg. Max Ernst. Societe Des Editions Jean-Jacques Pauvert (1958).
Ernst, Max San Lazzaro. XXe Siecle 11. Revue Xxe Siecle (1958). with original lithographs by Braque and Ernst and 3 pochoirs
Ernst, Max. Le Poeme De La Femme 100 Tetes. Jean Hugues Libraire Paris (1959). Illustrated with an etched frottage double-frontispiece by Max Ernst
Ernst, Max Peret. Mort Aux Vaches Et Au Champ D'Honneur. Arcanes, Collection Humour Noir, (1959). 50 copies
Ernst, Max Bataille. Propos Et Presence. Edition D'Art Gonthier-Seghers Paris (1959).
Ernst, Max San Lazzaro. XXe Siecle 13. Revue Xxe Siecle (1959). with six woodcuts by Kandinsky, Ernst, Magnetti, Arp and others, two li linocuts by Miro and Matisse, one lithograph, and one pochoir
Ernst, Max. Histoire Naturelle. Jean-Jacques Pauvert (1960). 34 drawings by Ernst
Ernst, Max Eluard. Les Malheurs Des Immortels. Verlag Galerie Der Spiegel, Koln (1960). 85 copies with reproductions of collages by Ernst
Ernst, Max Leclercq. La Rose Est Nue. Jean Hugues (1961). 300 copies
Ernst, Max Garnung. Le Meneur D'Ombres. Les Impenitents (1961). etching by Ernst
Ernst, Max. La Femme 100 Tetes Anweisung Fur Den Leser. Gerhardt Verlag (1962).
Ernst, Max Eluard. Repetitions. Koln, Galerie Der Spiegel (1962). 350 copies
Ernst, Max San Lazzaro. XXe Siecle 20. Revue Xxe Siecle (1962). with three lithographs, including one by Ernst
Ernst, Max San Lazzaro. XXe Siecle 23. Revue Xxe Siecle (1964). with a lithograph by Ernst
Ernst, Max. Histoire Naturelle. Koln: Galerie Der Spiegel (1965). 800 copies
Ernst, Max. Le Musee De L'Homme Suivi De La Peche Au Soleil Levant. Alexandre Iolas (1965). 99 copies have 2 original etchings by Ernst
Ernst, Max Carroll. Logique Sans Peine. Hermann (1966).
Ernst, Max Russell. Max Ernst Leben Und Werk. Koln, Dumont Schauberg (1966).
Ernst, Max Russell. Max Ernst Life And Work. Thames and Hudson (1967). more than 500 illustrations
Ernst, Max Caillois,. Obliques. Fata Morgana, Montpellier (1967). 500 copies
Ernst, Max CharRene. Dent Prompte. Galerie Lucie Weill (1969). 10 full-page original color lithographs
Ernst, Max. Journal D'Un Astronaute Millenaire. Solas, New-York (1969). 70 copies have two lithographs
Ernst, Max ,. Ecritures. Gallimard (1970). 120 drawings
Ernst, Max CarrollLewis. Wunderhorn. Wunderhorn, Manus Presse (1970). 1000 copies with 36 original color lithographs by Max Ernst
Ernst, Max Waldberg. Aux Petits Agneaux. Lucie Weill (1971). 52 copies with 19 lithographs by Ernst
Ernst, Max San Lazzaro. Homage to Max Ernst. Tudor Publishing NY (1971). With an original colour litograph executed by Max Ernst
Ernst, Max San Lazarro. Hommage a Max Ernst. Xxe Siecle (1971). With an original colour litograph executed by Max Ernst
Ernst, Max. Lieux Communs. Alexandre Iolas, Milan (1971). 1000 copies with 12 lithographic collages by Max Ernst
Ernst, Max Spies. Max Ernst 1950-1970: The Return Of La Belle Jardiniere. Harry N. Abrams (1971). With four original lithographs
Ernst, Max. Brusberg Dokumente 3. Kestner-Museum Hannover (1972). 5555 numbered copies with an original lithograph
Ernst, Max. Histoire Naturelle. Abrams (1972). 1200 copies
Ernst, Max Brusberg. Jenseits Der Malerei - Das Grafische Oeuvre. Kestner-Museum, Hannover (1972). 5555 numbered copies with an original lithograph
Ernst, Max Ribermont-Desaignes. La Ballade Du Soldat. Pierre Chave, Venice (1972). 799 copies with 34 lithographs by Max Ernst
Ernst, Max Giraudoux. Lithographien Von Max Ernst Und Dorothea Tanning. Manus Presse, Stuttgart (1972). 500 numbered copies with 12 original color lithographs: 6 by Max Ernst and 6 by Dorothea Tanning
Ernst, Max Kastner. Max Ernst: Jenseits der Malerie -- Das Graphische Oeuvre. Max Ernst: Jenseits der Malerie -- Das Graphische Oeuvre, Galerie Brusberg (1972). original color lithograph by Max ErnstJenseits der Malerei
Ernst, Max Arnim. Seelandschaft Mit Kapuziner. Zurich, Editions Hans Bolliger (1972). 500 copies with one full page lithograph and six photo-lithographed plates
Ernst, Max Tardieu. 24 Frattagen. Deserts Plisses. Zurich, Editions Hans Bollinger (1973). 607 copies with two original lithographs
Ernst, Max Folon. La Mort D'Un Arbre. Alice Editions, Milan (1973). one original lithograph by Ernst
Ernst, Max. Max Ernst Ne Peint Plus!. Galerie Chave (1973). 8+ color lithographs
Ernst, Max Spies. Max Ernst - Collagen Inventar Und Widerspruch. Verlag Dumont Schauburg, Cologne (1974). 2000 copies contains an original color lithograph on Papier d'Arches
Ernst, Max. Max Ernst Sculpture 1934 - 1974. The Capricorn Trust (1974).
Ernst, Max Folon. The Death Of A Tree. Milan, Alice Editions (1974). original lithograph by Ernst
Ernst, Max San Lazzaro. Xxe Siecle 42 43. Xxe Siecle (1974). Ernst lithograph
Ernst, Max Spies. Max Ernst Collagen. Koln, Dumon (1975).
Ernst, Max Spies. Max Ernst Das Graphische Werk. Houston: Menil Foundation (1975). Band 1: Das Graphische Werk contains an original color lithograph; 6 volumes in all.
Ernst, Max Spies. Max Ernst Oeuvre-Katalog. Houston, Menil Foundation (1975). 1579 copies of volume I have an original Ernst lithograph. 6 volumes in all.
Ernst, Max. Hommage a Max Ernst. Wiesbaden, Ebeling Verlag (1976). original lithograph by Ernst
Ernst, Max Lebel. La Saint-Charlemagne. Le Soleil Noir (1976).
Ernst, Max Quinn. Max Ernst. Thames And Hudson (1976). 750 copies with an original lithrogaph
Ernst, Max Quinn. Max Ernst. New York Graphic Society (1977).