René Magritte

Edward James, London (commissioned from the artist in 1937)

Acquavella Galleries, New York (acquired from the above in December 1979)

Daniel Malingue, Paris (acquired from the above in 1982)

Private Collection, London (acquired from the above)

Christie's, London, 27 June 1995, lot 191 (consigned by the above)

Private Collection, New York (acquired at the above sale)

Christie’s, London, 27 February 2019, lot 103 (consigned by the above)

Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Worthing Art Gallery and Eastbourne, Towner Art Gallery, Paintings from the Edward James Collection: Dalí, Tchelitchew, Chirico, Magritte, 1964, no. 16 (titled Abstract Composition with an Eye by White Pyramids Between Two Orange Curtains on a Buff Surface, a Cracked Sky in the Background)

Durham, England, Durham Surrealist Festival, 1968, no. 1 (titled Composition with Eye, Pyramids, etc.)

London, Marlborough Fine Art, Magritte: Retrospective Loan Exhibition, 1973, no. 47, pp. 42 and 95, illustrated (dated circa 1939)

Edinburgh, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, The Edward James Collection: Dalí, Magritte and Other Surrealists, 1976, no. 42, p. 19, illustrated (dated circa 1939)

Card from Magritte to Edward James, 10 April 1937

Letter from Magritte to Edward James, 18 May 1937

Letter from Edward James to Magritte, 10 June 1937

Letter from Magritte to E.L.T. Mesens, 22 June 1937

Postcard from Magritte to Edward James, 27 June 1937

Norman Rosenthal, "Follies and Fantasies", Art and Artists, July 1971, p. 53, illustrated in color (titled Abstract Composition and catalogued with incorrect dimensions)

David Sylvester, ed., René Magritte: Catalogue raisonné, Oil Paintings and Objects, 1931-1948, vol. II, London, 1993, no. 435, p. 243, illustrated