The Curious Case of Meret Oppenheim’s Furry Teacup

A hundred years later, a Surrealist artwork continues to inspire curiosity in all who encounter it.

“It is an object that—once you’ve seen it, it’s there in your imagination forever,” says former MoMA senior curator Anne Umland about Meret Oppenheim’s Surrealist Object. Objects conservator Caitlin Gozo Richeson had a similar reaction on seeing the fur-lined teacup, saucer, and spoon for the first time as a MoMA intern. “I remember seeing it in the galleries and just being floored,” she recalls. “For me, it’s always been one of those objects that is just so burned into my memory and my senses.”

Oppenheim’s Object is one of the most celebrated works in MoMA’s collection—and for good reason. It’s an artwork full of wonder and humor, often leaving us with more questions than answers. For this edition of the Magazine podcast, we plumb the mysteries of an artwork that has come to embody Surrealism, an artistic and literary movement celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/1133