Leonora Carrington

by Aberth, Susan

• ISBN13: 9780853319085
• ISBN10: 0853319081
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-12-30
• Publisher: Independent Pub Group

Summary

This is the first book to survey the life and work of Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington (born 1917).Carrington burst onto the Surrealist scene in 1936, when, as a precocious nineteen-year-old débutante, she escaped the stultifying demands of her wealthy English family by running away to Paris with her lover Max Ernst. She was immediately championed by André Breton, who responded enthusiastically to her fantastical, dark and satirical writing style and her interest in fairy tales and the occult. Her stories were included in Surrealist publications, and her paintings in the Surrealists' exhibitions.After the dramas and tragic separations of the Second World War, Carrington ended up in the 1940s as part of the circle of Surrealist European émigrés living in Mexico City. Close friends with Luis Bunuel, Benjamin Péret, Octavio Paz and a host of both expatriate Surrealists and Mexican modernists, Carrington was at the centre of Mexican cultural life, while still maintaining her European connections.Leonora Carrington: Surrealism, Alchemy and Art provides a fascinating overview of this intriguing artist's rich body of work. The author considers Carrington's preoccupation with alchemy and the occult, and explores the influence of indigenous Mexican culture and beliefs on her production.

Author Biography

Susan Aberth is currently Assistant Professor of Art History at Bard College, New York.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The magikal art of painting

The reluctant dTbutante

Ernst, Surrealism and the femme sorciFre

Heaven and hell: wartime experiences

The alchemical kitchen: Domestic space as sacred space

Esoteric interests

Bibliography

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.