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Leonora Carrington Art

British, 1917-2011

Leonora Carrington was a British-Mexican Surrealist artist and a founding member of the women’s liberation movement in Mexico. She was born in 1917 in Lancashire, England, and studied at the Chelsea School of Art. Carrington soon established herself as a key figure in the Surrealist movement, and up until her death in 2011, exhibited extensively in England, Mexico, and across the United States.

In 1936, Carrington met and began a romantic relationship with the older German painter, Max Ernst, who would have a notable influence on her work. After Ernst was arrested for “Degenerate Art,” Carrington was hospitalized with a mental breakdown in Madrid. Following her traumatic experience of shock therapy, she retreated to Mexico in 1942 and resumed painting.

Carrington was the only woman included in a major retrospective of Surrealism at the Pierre Matisse gallery in New York in 1947, where she became an overnight art world sensation. Over time she also emerged as one of the leading voices in Mexico’s suffrage movement, designing many of its rally pamphlets.

Carrington’s dreamlike paintings and prints, comprising highly detailed compositions of fantastical creatures and otherworldly settings, are based on intensely personal symbolism. However, themes of metamorphosis and magic have given her art an enduring appeal. As said by the artist, in her classic novella, The Hearing Trumpet, “Art making is a magic which makes the hours melt away and even days dissolve into seconds."

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(Biography provided by Heather James Fine Art)

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Artist: Leonora Carrington
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By Leonora Carrington
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Leonora Carrington (English, 1917–2011) A visionary artist, writer, and sculptor, Leonora Carrington created worlds steeped in magic, mythology, and the subconscious. Originally from...
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Leonora Carrington art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Leonora Carrington art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Leonora Carrington in lithograph and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1990s and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Leonora Carrington art, so small editions measuring 24 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Marc Vaux, Francis Dodd, and Harold Cohen. Leonora Carrington art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $4,500 and tops out at $4,500, while the average work can sell for $4,500.

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