Leonora Carrington

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Leonora Carrington
Born (1917-04-06)6 April 1917
Clayton-le-Woods, Lancashire, England
Died 25 May 2011(2011-05-25) (aged 94)
Mexico City, Mexico
Nationality British, Mexican
Field Painting, Surrealist painter
Movement Surrealism
Influenced by Max Ernst

Leonora Carrington OBE (6 April 1917 – 25 May 2011[1]) was a British-born Mexican artist, a surrealist painter and a novelist. She lived most of her life in Mexico City, and was one of the last surviving participants in the Surrealist movement of the 1930s.[2]

Contents

Early life [edit]

Carrington was born in Clayton Green, Chorley, Lancashire,[3][4] England. Her father was a wealthy textile manufacturer;[3][5] her mother, Maureen Moorhead, was Irish.[3] She also had an Irish nanny, Mary Cavanaugh, who told her Gaelic tales. Leonora had three brothers: Patrick, Gerald, and Arthur.[6] Places she lived as a child included a house called Crookhey Hall.[7]

Educated by governesses, tutors and nuns, she was expelled from two schools, including New Hall School, Chelmsford,[8] for her rebellious behaviour until her family sent her to Florence where she attended Mrs. Penrose's Academy of Art. Her father was opposed to an artist's career for her, but her mother encouraged her. She returned to England and was presented at Court, but according to her, she brought a copy of Aldous Huxley's Eyeless in Gaza (1936) to read instead. In 1935, she attended the Chelsea School of Art in London for one year but thanks to her father's friend Serge Chermayeff, she was able to transfer to the Ozenfant Academy in London from 1935-1938.[9]

In 1927, at the age of ten, she saw her first Surrealist painting in a Left Bank gallery and met many Surrealists, including Paul Éluard [10]. She became familiar with Surrealism from a copy of Herbert Read's book, 'Surrealism' (1936) given by her Mother.[7] Leonora Carrington found little encouragement from her family to forge an artistic career.

Matthew Gale, curator at Tate Modern, singled out Surrealist poet and patron Edward James as the only champion of her work in Britain. James bought many of her paintings, and in 1947 arranged a show for her work at Pierre Matisse's Gallery in New York. Some works are still hanging at his former family home, now West Dean College in West Dean, West Sussex.[11]

Max Ernst [edit]

Carrington saw Max Ernst's work in the 1936 International Surrealist Exhibition in London, and was immediately attracted to the Surrealist artist before actually meeting him.

She met Ernst at a party in London in 1937. The artists bonded and returned together to Paris, where Ernst promptly separated from his wife. In 1938 they left Paris and settled in Saint Martin d'Ardèche in the south of France. The new couple collaborated and supported each other's artistic development. It has been noted that these two artists collaborated and created sculptures of guardian animals to decorate their home with in St. Martin d'Ardeche; Ernst created his birds and Carrington created a plaster horse head.[12] In 1939, Carrington painted Portrait of Max Ernst as a tribute to their relationship.[13]

With the outbreak of World War II, Ernst was arrested by French authorities for being a "hostile alien." Thanks to the intercession of Paul Éluard, and other friends including the American journalist Varian Fry, he was discharged a few weeks later.

Soon after the Nazi occupation of France, Ernst was arrested again, this time by the Gestapo. He managed to escape and flee to America with the help of Peggy Guggenheim, a sponsor of the arts.[14] After Ernst's arrest, a devastated Carrington fled to Spain. Paralyzing anxiety and growing delusions culminated in a final breakdown at the British Embassy in Madrid. Her parents intervened and had her institutionalized. She was given "convulsive therapy" with cardiazol, a powerful anxiogenic drug that was eventually banned by some authorities, for instance U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In addition to Cardiazol, she was also given Barbiturate Luminal.[15]

After being released into the care of a nurse who took her to Lisbon, Carrington ran away and sought refuge in the Mexican Embassy. Meanwhile, Ernst had been extricated from Europe with the help of Peggy Guggenheim, whom he married in 1941. Ernst and Carrington had experienced so much misery that they were unable to reconnect.

Three years after being released from the asylum and with the encouragement of André Breton,[16] Carrington wrote down the events of her psychotic experience in her novel Down Below.[17] She also looked to creating art to depict her experience as can be seen in her Portrait of Dr. Morales and Map of Down Below.[17]

Mexico [edit]

Following the escape to Lisbon, Carrington arranged passage out of Europe with Renato Leduc, a Mexican Ambassador[18] who was a friend of Picasso and who had agreed to marry Carrington as part of the travel arrangements to help her. Events from that period would inform her work perhaps forever. She lived and worked in Mexico after spending part of the 1960s in New York City.[4]

While in Mexico she was asked to create a mural which she titled El Mundo Magico de los Mayas in 1963 that was influenced from traditional heritage stories within the region she lived.[19]

"I didn't have time to be anyone's muse... I was too busy rebelling against my family and learning to be an artist." --Leonora Carrington, 1983

In Mexico she later married Emericko Weisz. They had two sons: Gabriel Weisz, an intellectual and a poet, and Pablo Weisz, a surrealist artist and doctor.[20]

Leonora Carrington died in Mexico City on Wednesday May 25, 2011, while hospitalized due to complications from pneumonia.

Work [edit]

The first important exhibition of her work appeared in 1947 at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York City. Leonora Carrington was invited to show her work in an international exhibition of Surrealism where she was the only female English professional painter. She became a celebrity almost overnight. In Mexico she authored and has successfully published several books.[21] The first major exhibition of her work in the UK for twenty years took place at Chichester's Pallant House Gallery, West Sussex, from 17 June to 12 September 2010 as part of a season of major international exhibitions called Surreal Friends, celebrating the place of women in the Surrealist movement. Her work was exhibited alongside pieces by her close friends the Spanish painter Remedios Varo (1908–1963) and the Hungarian photographer Kati Horna (1912–2000).

In Carrington's artwork one can see her depiction of horses within her Self-Portrait (Inn of the Dawn Horse) or within her painting The Horses of Lord Candlestick.[22] During her childhood, Carrington's fascination with drawing horses was even prevalent.[23] She also incorporates the use of horses in her writings as well. Within her first published short story, The House of Fear, Carrington places the horse in the role of a psychic guide to a young heroine.[24] 1n 1935, before The Seventh Horse was published, Carrington's first essay Jezzamathatics or Introduction to the Wonderful Process of Painting was published.[25] In addition to her enjoyment of depicting horses and writing, Carrington also commonly used code words to dictate meaning to her artwork such as the code work Candlestick she commonly used for her family, and the word lord for her father.[26]

Carrington was one of the last living Surrealist painters of her era. In 2005, Christie's auctioned Carrington's "Juggler".[27] The realized price was US$713,000, which set a new record for the highest price paid at auction for a living surrealist painter.

Books [edit]

Library resources
About Leonora Carrington
By Leonora Carrington
By Carrington
  • La Maison de la Peur (1938) - with illustrations by Max Ernst
  • Une chemise de nuit de flanelle (1951)
  • El Mundo Mágico de Los Mayas (Museo Nacional de Antropología, 1964) - illustrated by Leonora Carrington.
  • The Oval Lady: Surreal Stories (Capra Press, 1975)
  • The Hearing Trumpet (Routledge, 1976)
  • The Stone Door (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1977)
  • The Seventh Horse and Other Tales (Dutton, 1988)
  • The House of Fear (Trans. K. Talbot and M. Warner. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1988)
  • Down Below ( Chicago,Black Swan Press, 1972; renewed edition 1988)
Featuring Carrington

Artwork [edit]

By Carrington
  • Leonora Carrington, Self-Portrait (Inn of the Dawn Horse), 1936-1937, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection.
  • Leonora Carrington, Portrait of Max Ernst, 1939, Private Collection.
  • Leonora Carrington, The Horses of Lord Candlestick, 1938, Private Collection.
  • Leonora Carrington, The Meal of Lord Candlestick, 1938
  • Leonara Carrington, The Inn of the Dawn Horse (Self-Portrait), 1939 (first major Surrealist work) Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection.

See also [edit]

Notes [edit]

  1. ^ Mark Stevenson, Associated Press (May 26, 2011). "Surrealist Leonora Carrington dies at 94 in Mexico". www.seattlepi.com. 
  2. ^ Carington, Leonara. "leonara carington". Retrieved 23 April 2013. 
  3. ^ a b c Leo Carrington Sons website
  4. ^ a b See Carrington's "El Mundo Magico de Los Mayas".
  5. ^ Robinson, Michael. Surrealism (Fulham: Star Fire, 2006),312.
  6. ^ Aberth, Susan (2012). Leonora Carrington: Surrealism, Alchemy and Art. Lund Humphries. p. 11. 
  7. ^ a b William Grimes (May 26, 2011). "Leonora Carrington Is Dead at 94; Artist and Author of Surrealist Work". The New York Times. 
  8. ^ New Hall School, Chelmsford Retrieved May 27, 2011
  9. ^ Aberth, Susan (2010). Leonora Carrington: Surrealism, Alchemy and Art. Lund Humphries. p. 21. 
  10. ^ Carrington Leonara. "Carrington Leonara bio". Retrieved 14 May 2013. 
  11. ^ Leonora and me (accessed online April 4, 2008)
  12. ^ Aberth, Susan (2010). Leonora Carrington: Surrealism, Alchemy and Art. Lund Humphries. p. 39. 
  13. ^ Aberth, Susan (2012). Leonora Carrington: Surrealism, Alchemy and Art. Lund Humphries. p. 43. 
  14. ^ Max Ernst (Olga's gallery - accessed online July 21, 2007).
  15. ^ Gaensbauer, Deborah. Gaensbauer. p. 275. 
  16. ^ Hertz, Erich. Breton. p. 97. 
  17. ^ a b Gaensbauer, Deborah (1994). "Voyages of Discovery: Leonora Carrington's Magical Prose". Women's Studies 23 (3). 
  18. ^ Aberth, Susan. ambassador. p. 51. 
  19. ^ Aberth, Susan (Autumn 1992). "Leonroa Carrington: The Mexican Years, 1943-1985.". Art Journal 51 (3): 83–85. 
  20. ^ The Transcendence of the Image (Tate online - retrieved November 18, 2008).
  21. ^ Leonora Carrington: The Mexican Years, 1943-1985 (University of New Mexico Press, 1998).
  22. ^ Aberth, Susan (2010). Leonora Carrington: Surrealism, Alchemy and Art. Lund Humphries. pp. 31, 36. 
  23. ^ Aberth, Susan. Aberth. p. 32. 
  24. ^ Chadwick, Whitney (1986). "Leonora Carrington: Evolution of a Feminist Consciousness". Woman's Art Journal 7 (1): 38. 
  25. ^ Aberth, Susan (2010). Leonora Carrington: Surrealism, Alchemy and Art. Lund Humphries. pp. 20, 149. 
  26. ^ Aberth, Susan. SusanAlberth. p. 41. 
  27. ^ Christies website entry

Bibliography [edit]

  • Chadwick, Whitney. Women Artists and the Surrealist Movement (Thames and Hudson, New York, 1985).
  • Sills, Leslie & Whitman. A. "Visions: stories of women artists (Morton Grove, Illinois, 1993).
  • Aberth, Susan L. Leonora Carrington - Surrealism, Alchemy and Art (Lund Humphries, 2004).
  • Moorhead, Joanna. Another world (article about Carrington from the Daily Telegraph magazine, 24 Apr 2010).
  • Raay, Stefan van; Moorhead, Joanna; Arcq, Teresa. "Surreal Friends: Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and Kati Horna" (Lund Humphries in association with Pallant House Gallery, 2010).
  • Chadwick, Whitney. “Leonora Carrington: Evolution of a Feminist Consciousness.” Woman’s Art Journal Vol. 7, no. 1: (1986). http://www.jstor.org/stable/1358235 (accessed February 21, 2012). P. 38.
  • Hertz, Erich. "Disruptive Testimonies: The Stakes of Surrealist Experience in Breton and Carrington." Symposium Vol. 64, no. 2: (2010). Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost. (accessed March 29, 2012).
  • Aberth, Susan. “Leonora Carrington: The Mexican years, 1943-1985.” Art Journal Vol. 51, no. 3: (Autumn 1992).

http://www.jstor.org/stable/777352 (accessed April 1, 2012). p. 83-85

External links [edit]

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