A fine cross painted above the image evokes a crosshair or radar image. The work is marked by an ambiguity between romance and rigidity, the star, sand, and sky alluding to dream and adventure, while the metal ring and cross(hair) impose structure. This oscillation between poetry and construction is characteristic for the work of Joseph Cornell. Ellen H. Johnson described the artist’s work as a joining of forces by Marcel Duchamp, Antoine Watteau, and Piet Mondrian. Cornell was deeply interested in both the natural sciences and the visual and performing arts. From 1932 onwards, he repeatedly exhibited with the Surrealists in both Paris and New York. The sea, sky, and stars are recurring motifs in Cornell’s oeuvre. The star in particular has a special significance as it symbolises enlightenment and inspiration as well as astrology, Cornell's favourite discipline. In Untitled (Blue Sand Tray) the star takes on a third meaning: During the 1940s, Cornell interests shifted and in 1949 he left the Surrealist group to join the New York School. The star thus also symbolizes America and its pivotal role in contemporary art. In its combination of tableau and object, precision and poetry, Untitled (Blue Sand Tray) is a remarkable expression of Cornell’s merging of Surrealism and Constructivism, Europe and America.