Yves Tanguy was a French surrealist painter born in 1908 in Paris. After briefly working various jobs after his military service, he was inspired by a painting by Giorgio de Chirico in 1922 to become a painter himself. He joined the surrealist group in 1925 where Andre Breton helped him develop his unique surrealist painting style featuring nonrepresentational forms, giving his first solo exhibition in 1927. Tanguy continued painting surrealist works until his death in 1955, moving to New York with his wife during World War II.