Leonora Carrington

Leonora Carrington was born in May 1907 in Lancashire, England. She rebelled against societal expectations and was more interested in Irish fables and English writers like Lewis Carroll, Jonathan Swift, and Beatrix Potter.

Leonora Carrington, a British Surrealist artist, was born on April 6, 1917. She is known for her fascinating life story, including abandoning her family for a painter, living in Mexico, and painting until she was 90.

At the age of ten in 1927, Leonora Carrington first encountered Surrealist art in a gallery in Paris, which sparked her passion for becoming an artist despite her father's disapproval.

In 1935, Leonora Carrington's first essay titled 'Jezzamathatics or Introduction to the Wonderful Process of Painting' was published, followed by her story 'The Seventh Horse'. Her writings often incorporated codes and symbolism, such as using 'Candlestick' to represent her family and 'lord' for her father.

In 1936, Leonora Carrington met Max Ernst in Paris after being struck by his dreamlike painting Two Children Are Threatened by a Nightingale at the first International Surrealist Exhibition in London. They soon established a home in St. Martin d’Ardèche in the south of France.

In 1937, Leonora Carrington met Max Ernst at a dinner party and fell in love with him, despite Ernst being married and still seeing his wife. They decided to leave London together and settle in Paris, where Carrington immersed herself in art.

After the Nazis considered Ernst, who was Jewish, an enemy alien and interned him, Leonora Carrington fled to Spain in 1938. She experienced a mental breakdown and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Santander.

In 1939, Leonora Carrington escaped from her father's attempt to admit her to a sanatorium in South Africa. She sought refuge at the Mexican embassy, thinking of her friend Renato Leduc, a Mexican diplomat. To solve her predicament, they decided to get married.

In June 1940, Nazi forces occupied France, leading to the displacement of many individuals including the artist Leonora Carrington.

In 1941, Leonora Carrington left France for Spain, suffered a mental breakdown, and then moved to New York City through a marriage of convenience with Mexican diplomat Renato Leduc. During her time in New York, she continued to write, paint, and reunited with other exiled Surrealists.

In late 1942, Leonora Carrington relocated to Mexico City where she would spend the rest of her life, becoming part of a vibrant expatriate artistic community.

After living in Mexico for seven years, Carrington held her first solo exhibition at the Galeria Clardecor. The public response was positive and critic reviews were approving, marking a significant milestone in her artistic career.

After being released to the care of a nurse in Lisbon, Carrington escaped and sought sanctuary in the Mexican embassy.

Mexican ambassador Renato Leduc, a friend of Pablo Picasso, helped Carrington escape Europe by entering a marriage of convenience and fleeing to Mexico.

In 1947, Leonora Carrington had her first significant exhibition at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York City. This event marked a crucial moment in her career as an artist.

In 1949, Leonora Carrington created the artwork 'La artista viaja de incognito (The Artist Traveling Incognito)', which was displayed at the Weinstein Gallery in San Francisco, CA, USA. The piece showcases Carrington's unique style and surrealist themes.

In 'Ulu's Pants', Carrington's nostalgia for Celtic mythology and exposure to Mexican cultural traditions are evident. The painting reflects her interest in continuous renewal through self-discovery and features hybrid characters in a labyrinthine world.

In 1953, Leonora Carrington painted And Then We Saw the Daughter of the Minotaur, featuring her children among mystical creatures and crystal balls, possibly symbolizing an act of divination.

In 1960, Leonora Carrington was honored with a major retrospective of her work held at the Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno in Mexico City.

In 1963, Leonora Carrington was asked to create a mural named El Mundo Magico de los Mayas in Mexico, influenced by folk stories from the region. The mural is currently located in the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City.

In 1970, Leonora Carrington, the renowned artist and writer, passed away at the age of 94, leaving behind a legacy of surrealistic art and feminist activism.

In 1973, Leonora Carrington designed the Mujeres conciencia poster for the Women's Liberation movement in Mexico, depicting a 'new Eve'. This poster was a significant contribution to the feminist movement in the 1970s.

Carrington's 'Bird Bath' portrays older women in a setting reminiscent of her childhood home. The painting combines humor and solemnity, symbolizing transformation and creative power in a whimsical ceremony.

A collection of surreal stories published by Capra Press in 1975.

A retrospective exhibition dedicated to Leonora Carrington held at the Center for Inter-American Relations in New York City, USA in 1976.

Published in 1977 by St. Martin's Press, with a reissue by New York Review Books in 2024.

Whitney Chadwick conducted an interview with Leonor Fini in La Ferma St Sauveur, France in 1982. The interview was later published in Chadwick's work 'The Two Leonors: Leonora Carrington and Leonor Fini, St. Martin D’Ardèche, 1938–1941' in 2018.

In 1986, Leonora Carrington won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Women's Caucus for Art convention in New York due to her political commitment and contributions to feminist art. This recognition highlighted her impact on the art world.

Translated by K. Talbot and M. Warner, published by E. P. Dutton in 1988.

In 2000, Leonora Carrington was photographed in her house in Mexico by Daniel Aguilar via Reuters.

In 2005, Christie's auctioned Carrington's painting 'Juggler (El Juglar)' for USD $713,000, setting a new record for the highest price paid at auction for a living surrealist painter.

In 2008, a selection of Leonora Carrington's large bronze sculptures were publicly displayed on the streets of Mexico City, allowing the public to appreciate her sculptural works in a unique outdoor setting.

The first major exhibition of Leonora Carrington's work in the UK in twenty years took place at Chichester's Pallant House Gallery and later at Norwich's Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. The exhibition was part of a series called Surreal Friends, celebrating women's contributions to the Surrealist movement.

Leonora Carrington, a prominent British Surrealist artist, passed away on May 25, 2011. She was considered one of the greatest but most neglected Surrealists, known for her unique life story and artistic contributions.

In 2013, Leonora Carrington was the subject of a major retrospective at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin. The exhibition titled The Celtic Surrealist explored Carrington's Irish heritage and how it influenced the cultural, political, and mythological themes in her artwork.

From 6th March to 31st May 2015, an exhibition showcasing the art of Leonora Carrington took place at Tate Liverpool in England.

In September to December 2016, an exhibition featuring the works of Leonora Carrington was held at The Last Tuesday Society & Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities in Hackney, London, England.

Published in 2017 by Dorothy, a publishing project, with an introduction by Kathryn Davis.

The 'Fantastic Women' exhibition featuring Leonora Carrington's works is displayed at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark from 25 July to 8 November 2020.

Leonora Carrington's exhibition 'El Mundo Magico' is held in Los Angeles, California, United States from 9 July to 27 August 2022.

Leonora Carrington's exhibition 'Revelación' takes place in Madrid, Spain from 11 February to 7 May 2023.