Skip to main content

Leonor Fini Paintings

French, 1908-1996

Leonor Fini was the life of the party during the French Surrealist movement. A socialite with connections to some of the movement's biggest names, Fini was also an astoundingly gifted artist in her own right. In fact, many consider her to be the most fiercely independent female artist of the 20th century. A theatrical personality, Fini created prints, paintings and drawings that are widely revered for their sensuous qualities and raw energy.

Fini's life started off in a dramatic fashion, which was perhaps a portent of things to come. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1907, but her parents separated soon after and her mother took her away to Trieste, Italy. Due to her father's attempts to kidnap her, Fini was often dressed as a boy throughout her childhood. 

Fini was surrounded by artistic women in Trieste, and she naturally developed a love for art as well. By the time she was 17, she had become familiar with Renaissance art and Mannerist painting and was exhibiting her own portraits. In 1931, at just 24 years of age, Fini moved to Paris and became acquainted with influential artists Giorgio de Chirico and Carlos Carrà. She also met and started a romantic relationship with Surrealist pioneer Max Ernst, who introduced her to others in the movement.

Though she had no formal art education, Fini proved herself to be both technically masterful and creatively exceptional. Her work and her flamboyant personality attracted the attention of many of the 20th century's most celebrated artists and thinkers, including Salvador Dalí, Jean Cocteau, Albert Camus and Jean Genet, just to name a very few. She exhibited her work in many Parisian art galleries, including the gallery of Christian Dior before the fashion icon became a designer.

In the 1950s, Fini continued painting while immersing herself in other artistic and dramatic endeavors, including theater costume and mask design. She also designed posters for the Paris Opera and wardrobes for movies.

Fini continued living and painting in Paris for the rest of her life. She died in 1996.

On 1stDibs, find original Leonor Fini prints, paintings and drawings.

to
11
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
12
11
1
10
12
12
11
6
5
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
10
10
5
5
5
326
757
754
733
672
1
7
11
1
Artist: Leonor Fini
10a
10a

10a

By Leonor Fini

Located in Columbia, MO

Lithograph on Arches paper Exemplaire B/165

Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper, Lithograph

10b

10b

By Leonor Fini

Located in Columbia, MO

Lithograph on washi paper Exemplaire B/165

Category

1960s Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Washi Paper

1a
1a

1a

By Leonor Fini

Located in Columbia, MO

Lithograph on Arches Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, in the...

Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Archival Paper

3b

3b

By Leonor Fini

Located in Columbia, MO

Lithograph on washi paper Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, i...

Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper, Lithograph

Le Concile d'Amour - Gouache on Paper Unique Surrealist Woman Painter, 1968
Le Concile d'Amour - Gouache on Paper Unique Surrealist Woman Painter, 1968

Le Concile d'Amour - Gouache on Paper Unique Surrealist Woman Painter, 1968

By Leonor Fini

Located in New York, NY

Leonor Fini Le Concile d'amour, 1968 Gouache on paper 14 1/5 × 11 4/5 in l 36 × 30 cm Frame included - 22 x 18 1/8 in l 56 x 46 cm Signed, counter-signed and titled lower right Cond...

Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Gouache

12b

12b

By Leonor Fini

Located in Columbia, MO

Lithograph on washi paper Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, i...

Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Washi Paper

4a

4a

By Leonor Fini

Located in Columbia, MO

Lithograph on Arches paper Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, ...

Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper, Lithograph

9b

9b

By Leonor Fini

Located in Columbia, MO

Lithograph on washi paper Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, i...

Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Washi Paper

3a

3a

By Leonor Fini

Located in Columbia, MO

Lithograph on Arches Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, in the...

Category

1960s Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Archival Paper

4b

4b

By Leonor Fini

Located in Columbia, MO

Lithograph on washi paper Exemplaire B/165

Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Washi Paper

1b

1b

By Leonor Fini

Located in Columbia, MO

Lithograph on washi paper Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, i...

Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Washi Paper

La Conversation
La Conversation

La Conversation

By Leonor Fini

Located in London, GB

LEONOR FINI 1908-1996 Buenos Aires 1908-1996 Paris Title: La Conversation Technique: Original Signed Gouache and Ink Painting on heavy gray paper size: 48 x 35 cm / 18.9 x 13.8 in Additional Information: This beautiful Gouache and Ink Painting is hand signed in the lower right part "Léonor Fini". Provenance: Photo Certificate by Richard Overstreet...

Category

1980s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Related Items
Fire, mixed media portrait of nude woman
Fire, mixed media portrait of nude woman

Fire, mixed media portrait of nude woman

By Deirdre O'Connell

Located in New York, NY

“I thought the world was turned upside down when I started this body of work right after the 2016 presidential election. Little did I know. I had gone to the Woman's March in Washing...

Category

2010s Contemporary Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Fabric, Paper, Acrylic, Pencil, Laser, Gouache

Living Fairy tale -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern Women
Living Fairy tale -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern Women

Living Fairy tale -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern Women

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Sometime to live life you need to believe in your own fairytales because it just one of those things that makes you full of readiness to love and and receive love , freedom and recei...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Gouache

Authentic Japanese Woodblock Prints Triptych Kyoto Maikoes by Hasegawa Sadanobu
Authentic Japanese Woodblock Prints Triptych Kyoto Maikoes by Hasegawa Sadanobu

Authentic Japanese Woodblock Prints Triptych Kyoto Maikoes by Hasegawa Sadanobu

Located in London, GB

GSY curated this unique set of three authentic Shin-hanga Woodblock Prints by the workshop of Hasegawa Sadanobu III, the Uchida Publishing House, a well-known Kyoto publisher; they h...

Category

1950s Edo Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Ink, Washi Paper

Fine 18th Century French Old Master Ink Wash Drawing Cain & Abel Fighting
Fine 18th Century French Old Master Ink Wash Drawing Cain & Abel Fighting

Fine 18th Century French Old Master Ink Wash Drawing Cain & Abel Fighting

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

'Cain et Abel' Circle of Franois Devosge (1732-1811) French pencil drawing with watercolour wash on paper size: 12.25 x 9 inches private collection, France The painting is in overall...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Washi Paper, Color Pencil

Lady, Wash on Paper, Green, Blue by Indian Contemporary Artist "In Stock"
Lady, Wash on Paper, Green, Blue by Indian Contemporary Artist "In Stock"

Lady, Wash on Paper, Green, Blue by Indian Contemporary Artist "In Stock"

By Mintu Naiya

Located in Kolkata, West Bengal

Mintu Naiya - Lady - 11 x 8 inches ( unframed size ) Wash on Paper ** Shipped in roll form. About the Artist & his Art work : Born : November, 1976. Education : Graduate from Calc...

Category

2010s Contemporary Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Paper, Washi Paper

1950s "Pink Towel 2" Mid Century Nude Gouache Painting
1950s "Pink Towel 2" Mid Century Nude Gouache Painting

1950s "Pink Towel 2" Mid Century Nude Gouache Painting

Located in Arp, TX

From the estate of Jerry Opper & Ruth Friedman Opper Yellow c. 1950's Gouache on Paper 15" x 18", Unframed *Custom framing available for additional charge. Please expect framing time between 3-5 weeks. From the estate of Ruth Friedmann Opper & Jerry Opper. Ruth was the daughter of Bauhaus artist, Gustav Friedmann. San Francisco Abstract Expression A free-spirited wave of creative energy swept through the San Francisco art community after World War II. Challenging accepted modes of painting, Abstract Expressionists produced highly experimental works that jolted the public out of its postwar complacency. Abstract Expressionism resulted from a broad collective impulse rather than the inspiration of a small band of New York artists. Documenting the interchanges between the East and West Coasts, she cites areas of mutual influence and shows the impact of San Francisco on the New York School, including artists such as Mark Rothko and Ad Reinhardt. San Francisco's Beat poets...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Woman in a Dream. nr.1. Surrealist fantasy by spanish painter Antonio Monasterio
Woman in a Dream. nr.1. Surrealist fantasy by spanish painter Antonio Monasterio

Woman in a Dream. nr.1. Surrealist fantasy by spanish painter Antonio Monasterio

Located in Firenze, IT

Antonio Monasterio - Woman in a Dream. no.1 Technique: Mixed media on paper (pastels, wax, and pen) Dimensions: Approximately 45 x 55 cm Period: 1970s This work presents an enigmatic...

Category

1980s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Paper, Wax Crayon, Ink, Tempera, Pen

Indian King, Wash on Paper, Blue, Green by Indian Contemporary Artist "In Stock"
Indian King, Wash on Paper, Blue, Green by Indian Contemporary Artist "In Stock"

Indian King, Wash on Paper, Blue, Green by Indian Contemporary Artist "In Stock"

By Mintu Naiya

Located in Kolkata, West Bengal

Mintu Naiya - King - 16 x 9 inches ( unframed size ) Wash on Paper ** Shipped in roll form. About the Artist & his Art work : Born : November, 1976. Education : Graduate from Calc...

Category

2010s Contemporary Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Paper, Washi Paper

V.B.: Her Rain Hat
V.B.: Her Rain Hat

Kim FrohsinV.B.: Her Rain Hat, 2018

$4,000

H 11.5 in W 8.5 in

V.B.: Her Rain Hat

By Kim Frohsin

Located in Burlingame, CA

'V.B.: Her Rain Hat' by celebrated figurative artist Kim Frohsin, painted in 2018. The artwork is 11 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches and it is professionally framed, 20 3/4 x 17. 1/2 inches in a ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Ink, Gouache

1950s "Orange Nude Lounging" Mid Century Figurative Painting Pratt Graphic Arts
1950s "Orange Nude Lounging" Mid Century Figurative Painting Pratt Graphic Arts

1950s "Orange Nude Lounging" Mid Century Figurative Painting Pratt Graphic Arts

By Donald Stacy

Located in Arp, TX

Donald Stacy "Orange Nude Lounging" c.1950s Oil pastel and gouache paint on paper 23" x 20" framed black gallery wood frame float mount Unsigned Came from artist's estate Donald Stacy (1925-2008) New Jersey Studied: Newark School of Fine Art The Art Students League Pratt Graphic Arts Center University of Paris 1953-54 University of Aix-en-Provence 1954-55 Faculty: Art Department of the New School Museum of Modern Art School of Visual Arts Stacy Studio Workshop Exhibitions: Grand Central Moderns George Wittenborn The New School Print Exhibitions, Chicago University of Oklahoma Honolulu Museum Monclair Museum Wisconsin State College Louisiana Art...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache, Oil Pastel

Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Female Blue Green Water
Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Female Blue Green Water

Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Female Blue Green Water

By Isabel Rock

Located in Norfolk, GB

Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative takes the audience on a journey into the imagination. In October 2023 Isabel won the Evelyn Williams Drawing Award at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize. Known as the UK’s most prestigious annual open exhibition for drawing; part of the prize is a solo show at Hastings Contemporary, scheduled for 2024. Whilst Isabel always has a tale to tell for each of her images, you may or may not choose to go on the journey with her or you may indeed have a different story, one of your own that jumps off the page at you, that that you decide to follow. Artwork Details: Water, 122 x 152cm, Collaged woodblock print, acrylic inks on Somerset satin paper, 2023 Artwork Provenance: from the Artist Studio photo credits, Isabel working, black and white shots, James Brown In Isabel's own words: Water; Once upon a time there was water. It fell from the sky in clear blue droplets. It made pools and puddles on the ground. The water tasted sweet and pure, it was good to drink, to make soup, to swim in or to wash in. It made the plants and trees grow big and luscious, it was the lifeblood of everything.. Everybody loved water and no one ever questioned where it came from or that one day the rain might stop and there would be no water.  The water women went about their usual business, they made soup, they grew cabbages, they argued and laughed together. The well was always full, there was food aplenty, life thrived. It is sometimes said that ignorance is bliss, and the women did live in bliss although they did not know it. They did not know that one day the rain would stop. It was only when the rain stopped that they knew they had lived in bliss. *Please note we are happy to ship this work rolled in an art tube. Whilst the work is on heavy duty art paper and mixed media, the artist is happy that the painting will be fine rolled in a tube. This is a more cost effective and environmentally sound method of shipping. Shipping via this method is free. About Isabel Rock and her work: Taking inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints and Indian miniature painting Rock has developed a unique collage technique that combines bold structures with large-scale woodblock prints and intricate detailing. The subject is a grand mixture of humour, drama, hidden morals, fanciful characters, modern culture, mythical beings and fantastical situations. Rock creates a world that pulls you in and demands your attention. Quality of line is paramount, the drawings are created using a dipping pen and acrylic ink. An essential tool is a squirrel...

Category

2010s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen

Chinese painting on rice paper “Procession” Guangzhou
Chinese painting on rice paper “Procession” Guangzhou

Chinese painting on rice paper “Procession” Guangzhou

Located in Valladolid, ES

Exquisite Chinese painting on rice paper, similar to gouache, dating from the late Qing Dynasty (19th century) to the early 20th century. Its iconography, technique, and composition ...

Category

1890s Qing Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Rice Paper

Previously Available Items
Figure surrealiste
Figure surrealiste

Leonor FiniFigure surrealiste, 1900

Sold

H 21.26 in W 17.33 in D 1.38 in

Figure surrealiste

By Leonor Fini

Located in Milan, IT

China su carta. Firmato in basso a destra. Al retro è presente timbro di Galleria d'arte e a matita il titolo "Conciliabula". Pittrice, scenografa, costumista, scrittrice, illustrat...

Category

20th Century Contemporary Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

India Ink

Sexy Cat  - Nude Unicorn Cat Woman  -  Chat Surrealiste
Sexy Cat  - Nude Unicorn Cat Woman  -  Chat Surrealiste

Sexy Cat - Nude Unicorn Cat Woman - Chat Surrealiste

By Leonor Fini

Located in Miami, FL

Leonor Fini creates a hybrid cat-woman-unicorn that is sexy and alluring. Signed lower right. Gouache and pen and ink on paper on heavy textured paper. The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Richard Overstreet...

Category

1940s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Gouache, Pen

Portrait of Pao Ying
Portrait of Pao Ying

Portrait of Pao Ying

By Leonor Fini

Located in Palm Desert, CA

"Portrait of Pao Ying" is a painting by Surrealist Leonor Fini. The painting is signed lower right, "Leonor Fini". The framed portrait measures 19 7/8 x 14 5/8 x 1 1/2 in. The sitter, Pao Ying (spelled in catalogue raisonne Pao Weng), was a close friend of Leonor Fini. Pao was also an artist, a jewelry designer. This is the only known painting by Fini of a Chinese woman. The frame is original. Leonor Fini (1907 – 1996) was born in Argentina, grew up in Italy, and spent much of her adult life in Paris working alongside such modern masters as Max Ernst, Andre Breton, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and George Balanchine. A self-taught artist, Fini’s work spans many mediums, including drawing, printmaking, costume design, and theatrical sets. As a painter, Fini is typically grouped with European surrealism, although she rejected what she considered the reductive labels of art movements. Nonetheless, Fini’s work engages with the unconscious and includes fantastical scenes with jarring, other-worldly juxtapositions and symbolism. Unlike many surrealists, however, Fini engages deeply with the corporeality of the human body in a way that often subverts gender norms. Fini’s female figures are typically dominant and stoic, while her male figures are eroticized. In other cases, the figures are highly androgynous and eroticized, complicating the way human sexuality is normally presented. Described by many to be particularly tall and commanding in physical appearance with very unusual cat-like eyes, in many ways she was more creaturely than human. Taking the artistic interest in the motif of an animal/human hybrid somewhat literally, she stood as an embodiment of feline transformation and metamorphosis, and came to accurately identify herself with the ancient figure of a Sphinx. Deadly in Greek tradition, whilst benevolent but ferocious in Egyptian stories, the appearance of the mythical creature is symbolic of Fini's love for artifice and nature combined. During her lifetime, Fini’s work was regularly well received and moderately successful. She enjoyed inclusion in the 1936 landmark MOMA exhibition Fantastic, Dada, Surrealism and a show at the Julien Levy gallery in New York. More recently, her art has enjoyed considerably more attention as she undergoes a critical and scholarly re-evaluation. She has been the subject of recent solo exhibitions at the Museum of Sex, New York (2018); the Weinstein Gallery...

Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

7b

Leonor Fini7b, circa 1969

Sold

H 14.5 in W 11 in

7b

By Leonor Fini

Located in Columbia, MO

Lithograph on washi paper Ed. H.C. X Exemplaire B

Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper, Lithograph

7a
7a

Leonor Fini7a, circa 1969

Sold

H 14.5 in W 11 in

7a

By Leonor Fini

Located in Columbia, MO

Lithograph on Arches Ed. H.C. X Exemplaire B Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris,...

Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Archival Paper

12a
12a

Leonor Fini12a, circa 1969

Sold

H 14.5 in W 11 in

12a

By Leonor Fini

Located in Columbia, MO

Lithograph on Arches Ed. H.C. X Exemplaire B Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris,...

Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Archival Paper

1
1

Leonor Fini1, circa 1969

Sold

H 8 in W 11 in

1

By Leonor Fini

Located in Columbia, MO

Watercolor on Arches Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, in the full swing of th...

Category

1960s Expressionist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Portrait de Femme ( Self Portrait ? )
Portrait de Femme ( Self Portrait ? )

Portrait de Femme ( Self Portrait ? )

By Leonor Fini

Located in Miami, FL

This is a possible self portrait by the famed female surrealist artist. It is also strikingly similar in style with it's exaggerated eyes to her portrait of Jean Genet, ( Leonor F...

Category

1940s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Leonor Fini paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Leonor Fini paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Leonor Fini in paper, lithograph, archival paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Surrealist style. Not every interior allows for large Leonor Fini paintings, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Oleg Turchin, Gigino Falconi, and David Cheifetz. Leonor Fini paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,920 and tops out at $400,000, while the average work can sell for $1,920.
Questions About Leonor Fini Paintings
  • 1stDibs ExpertAugust 29, 2024
    Yes, Leonor Fini was a Surrealist. Though she had no formal art education, Fini proved to be both technically masterful and creatively exceptional. Her work and her flamboyant personality attracted the attention of many of the 20th century's most celebrated artists and thinkers, including Salvador Dalí, Jean Cocteau, Albert Camus and Jean Genet. She exhibited her work in many Parisian art galleries, including the gallery of Christian Dior, before the fashion icon became a designer. On 1stDibs, explore a variety of Leonor Fini art.