Hat Rack (Duchamp)
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Hatrack (French: Porte‑chapeaux) is a readymade conceived by Marcel Duchamp in New York around 1916–1917. The original object is lost. The work is known through a small number of representations—two shadows (1918), a studio photograph (1916–17, published later) and a derived print (1941), plus a 1964 blueprint and a 1964 wood edition produced under the direction of Duchamp by Arturo Schwarz.[1] Taken together, these “snapshots” do not agree in hook‑count, curvature, or overall geometry. As a result, descriptions in institutional cataloguing, auction metadata, and secondary literature diverge.
Description and documentation
Duchamp introduced the readymade after his move from Paris to New York (1915), emphasizing the role of naming, dating, and context over craft. In interviews, he also spoke of a “rehabilitated” (mathematical) perspective and the “serial characteristic” of the readymade.[2] His 1911–15 notes (published as The Green Box and The White Box) repeatedly frame perception as a sequence of cuts or “snapshots”.[3]
In notes composed between 1913 and 1915 (published as The Green Box in 1934), Duchamp emphasized the importance of the date and instant of selection in the identity of a readymade, sometimes characterized as a “snapshot” quality that ties each instance to time and circumstance.
For Hat Rack, the surviving six representations are:
- 1918 – Painted shadow in Tu m’: a hat rack silhouette with two long and three short hook segments when rotated for reading; asymmetries and cropping are evident.[1] 1918 – Photographic shadow (Ombres portées / Cast Shadows): shows three long and two short hooks; connections between long and short segments are ambiguous.[1]
- 1916–17 – Studio photograph (published in the 1960s; retouched print used for 1941): image used as source for the Boîte print; Shearer counts two long and three short hooks; compositing/retouching cues noted.[1]
- 1941 – Boîte‑en‑valise print (from 1916–17 photo): a working proof reveals cut‑and‑paste assembly, indicating deliberate construction of the image.[1]
- 1964 – Blueprint (signed “okay, Marcel Duchamp”): depicts two long and three short hooks with unorthodox junctions; linework appears traced from a photograph, retaining perspective distortions inappropriate to an engineering drawing.[1]
- 1964 – Wood model (edition of 8, by Schwarz): a carved, radial object with six equal‑length hooks arranged three + three; its geometry does not match the 1964 blueprint or earlier depictions; installation orientation is unclear as a functional wall rack.[1]
Material and editions
No original, store‑bought 1916–17 hatrack survives. In 1964, Duchamp oversaw the production of authorized editions of several readymades, including Hatrack (wood, edition of 8 plus standard proofs), on the basis of photographs and Duchamp’s notes. Title usage varies (Hat Rack, Hatrack, Porte‑chapeaux); dates are typically given as 1917/1964.
Installation and function
Early representations show the object suspended by string (studio photo; Cast Shadows) or cast as a shadow (Tu m). The 1964 model’s equal hooks, radial symmetry, and carving suggest a reconstruction rather than a straightforward wall‑mounted rack; its practical orientation as a hat rack is not obvious compared to period bentwood comparanda (e.g., Thonet).[1]
Cataloguing and metadata variability
Institutional and auction records for Hat Rack present inconsistent metadata—titles, materials, dimensions, and installation notes—reflecting the mismatch among representations (1916–1964) and the 1964 edition’s attempt to stabilize a single form.
| Source (type) | Title used | Medium / type | Dimensions (as stated) | Hook count (visible / implied) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1916–17 studio photo (published 1960s) — 2D photo[1] | — | — | — | 2 long + 3 short | Retouched source used for the 1941 Boîte; string‑hang and shadow anomalies. |
| 1918 Tu m’ — painted shadow[1] | — | shadow (oil) | — | 2 long + 3 short (rotated reading) | Asymmetric; top segment cropped. |
| 1918 Cast Shadows — photograph[1] | — | photograph | — | 3 long + 2 short | Ambiguous long/short pairings; other studio manipulations present. |
| 1941 Boîte‑en‑valise — print from photo[1] | Readymade (hatrack image) | pochoir/print | — | 2 long + 3 short | Working proof shows cut‑and‑paste compositing. |
| 1964 blueprint (signed)[1] | Hatrack | blueprint | — | 2 long + 3 short | Perspective distortions retained; misread continuity of S‑hooks. |
| 1964 Schwarz edition — wood model [1] | Hatrack | carved wood; edition of 8 | — | Six equal hooks (sym. 3+3) | Does not match the 1964 blueprint or earlier images; unclear as a wall rack. |
| Christie’s lot record (2004)[4] | Hatrack | — | 23 × 23 × 10 in (≈58.4 × 58.4 × 25.4 cm) | — | Title and dimensions reported. |
| Representative museum catalogue entries, 1964 edition (e.g., Israel Museum; Art Institute of Chicago) | Hatrack / Porte‑chapeaux | wood; dated 1917/1964; ed. 8 | metric/imperial vary | — | Title language, material phrasing, and installation notes are not standardized across institutions. |
Discussion
The readymades are normally described as unaltered, mass‑produced objects reframed by titling and display.[5] By contrast, close comparison of the Hat Rack corpus (1916–1964) shows variety across the surviving “snapshots” (hook‑counts/curves differ; blueprint and edition diverge).
A systematized audit was undertaken by Rhonda Roland Shearer in 1997 using digital/physical models and forensic photographs to catalogue the inconsistencies within Duchamp’s own emphasis on seriality and a non‑retinal, “scientific” perspective.[1] Her research shows how independent documentary studies of Fountain and other readymades have also underscored how much of the readymade discourse rests on images and reconstructions rather than extant, original mass‑products.[6][7]
Nomenclature
English titles vary: Hatrack, Hat Rack. In French, Porte‑chapeaux. Dates in catalogues typically appear as 1917/1964 for the edition.
See also
Readymades of Marcel Duchamp
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Shearer, Rhonda Roland; Alvarez, Gregory; Slawinski, Robert; Marchi, Vittorio (11 May 2019). "Why the Hatrack is and/or is not Readymade: With Interactive Software, Animations, and Videos for Readers to Explore". Tout‑fait. Unknown parameter
|orig-date=ignored (help) - ↑ Cabanne, Pierre (1971). Dialogues with Marcel Duchamp. New York: Viking.
Perspective was very important… For me, perspective became absolutely scientific.
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- ↑ Duchamp, Marcel (1967). In the Infinitive (The White Box). New York: Cordier & Ekstrom. Search this book on
- ↑ "Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968), Hatrack". Christie’s. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
- ↑ de Duve, Thierry (1996). Kant After Duchamp. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Search this book on
- ↑ Camfield, William A. (1989). Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain: Its History and Aesthetics in the Context of 1917. Houston: Houston Fine Art Press. Search this book on
- ↑ Varnedoe, Kirk; Gopnik, Adam (1990). High & Low: Modern Art and Popular Culture. New York: Museum of Modern Art.
…a surviving example of the original type of urinal has proven impossible to locate…
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