Women Surrealists
Encyclopedia
Women Surrealists are women artists, photographers, filmmakers and authors of the Surrealist
Movement which began in the early 1920s. Many of them were part of, or connected to, the official Surrealist movement. Others were inspired but more distantly connected.
, (1890–1973) was an Italian fashion designer, a colleague of, friend of, and collaborator with Salvador Dalí
and Leonor Fini
, among others.
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
Movement which began in the early 1920s. Many of them were part of, or connected to, the official Surrealist movement. Others were inspired but more distantly connected.
Painters
- Eileen Forrester Agar (1899–1991) was born in Argentina and moved to BritainUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in childhood. She was prominent among British surrealists; Agar made intricate collages and paintings of abstract organic shapes.
- Leonora CarringtonLeonora CarringtonLeonora Carrington OBE was a British-born Mexican artist, a surrealist painter and a novelist. She lived most of her life in Mexico City.-Early life:...
(1917-2011) was a British-born Surrealist painter. She met the Surrealist Max ErnstMax ErnstMax Ernst was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was one of the primary pioneers of the Dada movement and Surrealism.-Early life:...
in 1937, and had a painful and complicated relationship with him. Much of her work is autobiographical..
- Leonor FiniLeonor FiniLeonor Fini was an Argentine surrealist painter.-Life and work:Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she was raised in Trieste, Italy. She moved to Milan at the age of 17, and then to Paris, in either 1931 or 1932...
(1907–1996), born in Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
and raised in TriesteTriesteTrieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, met the Surrealists in 1936 but never officially joined. She paints startling images, often with sphinxes or apparitions.
- Kay SageKay SageKatherine Linn Sage , usually known as Kay Sage, was an American Surrealist artist and poet.-Biography:...
(1898–1963) began painting surrealist landscapes in the late 1930s, met and married fellow surrealistYves TanguyYves TanguyRaymond Georges Yves Tanguy , known as Yves Tanguy, was a French surrealist painter.-Biography:Tanguy was born in Paris, France, the son of a retired navy captain. His parents were both of Breton origin...
in 1940.
- Dorothea TanningDorothea TanningDorothea Tanning is an American painter, printmaker, sculptor and writer. She has also designed sets and costumes for ballet and theatre.-Biography:...
(born 1910) was unable to join the Surrealists in Paris in 1940 because of the threat of war; she worked in New York, Arizona, and then Paris after the war. Her work has a rumpled, "juicy" look.
- Remedios VaroRemedios VaroRemedios Varo Uranga was a Spanish-Mexican, para-surrealist painter and anarchist. She was born María de los Remedios Varo Uranga in Anglès, Girona, Spain in 1908. During the Spanish Civil War she fled to Paris where she was greatly influenced by the surrealist movement...
(1908–1963), a Spaniard who moved to Mexico, was known for her dreamlike paintings of scientific apparatus. She was married to the Surrealist poet Benjamin PeretBenjamin PéretBenjamin Péret was a French poet, Parisian Dadaist and a founder and central member of the French Surrealist movement with his avid use of Surrealist automatism.-Biography:...
.
- Gertrude AbercrombieGertrude AbercrombieGertrude Abercrombie was an American painter based in Chicago. Called "the queen of the bohemian artists," Abercrombie was involved in the Chicago jazz scene and friends with musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Sarah Vaughan, whose music inspired her own creative work.-Personal...
(1909–1977) was a ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
artist inspired by the Surrealists, who became prominent in the 1930s and 1940s. She was also involved with the jazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music scene and was friends with musicians such as Dizzy GillespieDizzy GillespieJohn Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Charlie ParkerCharlie ParkerCharles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, and Sarah VaughanSarah VaughanSarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
.
Sculptors
- Méret OppenheimMéret Oppenheim-External links:**** http://www.artchive.com/artchive/M/man_ray.html...
(1913–1985) was a German-Swiss sculptor, famous as one of Man RayMan RayMan Ray , born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal...
's models. Her most famous sculpture is Object (Breakfast in Fur), a teacup, saucer and spoon completely encased in soft brown fur.
Photographers
- Claude CahunClaude CahunClaude Cahun was a French artist, photographer and writer. Her work was both political and personal, and often played with the concepts of gender and sexuality.-Early life:...
(1894-1954) was a French photographer and writer, associated with the surrealist movement. - Lee MillerLee MillerElizabeth 'Lee' Miller, Lady Penrose was an American photographer. Born in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1907, she was a successful fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris where she became an established fashion and fine art photographer...
(1907-1977) was an American photographer, photojournalist and model.
Fashion
Although not commonly classed with other fine arts, fashion also produced at least one Surrealist woman artist. Elsa SchiaparelliElsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she is regarded as one of the most prominent figures in fashion between the two World Wars. Starting with knitwear, Schiaparelli's designs were heavily influenced by Surrealists like her collaborators...
, (1890–1973) was an Italian fashion designer, a colleague of, friend of, and collaborator with Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
and Leonor Fini
Leonor Fini
Leonor Fini was an Argentine surrealist painter.-Life and work:Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she was raised in Trieste, Italy. She moved to Milan at the age of 17, and then to Paris, in either 1931 or 1932...
, among others.