Leonora Carrington

Leonora Carrington was an artist and author, best known as one of the leading female figures of the Surrealist movement. Carrington was born in Clayton Green, Lancashire, England, to a wealthy textile merchant family, and received much of her early education from tutors and nuns. After being expelled from several schools due to her rebellious nature, Carrington was sent to Florence, Italy, to attend her first art school, Mrs. Penrose’s Academy of Art. Her education continued at Chelsea School of Art in London for a year, after which she transferred to Ozenfant Academy, London, for the following three years.

In 1947, Carrington became extremely well known almost overnight after she showcased her work at a Surrealist exhibition held at the Pierre Matisse Gallery. As the only professional female painter represented at the exhibition, she quickly made a name for herself as one of the most prominent female painters of the Surrealist movement. In 2010, Carrington’s work was presented during a show entitled Surreal Friends at the Pallant House Gallery in West Sussex. Before her death in 2011, Carrington was recognized as one of the last female painters of the Surrealist movement. She also gained recognition when her painting Juggler (1954) set a new record as the most expensive piece ever sold by a living Surrealist painter. Carrington died on May 25, 2011.

2013–2014 Leonora Carrington: The Celtic Surrealist, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland (solo)

2008 Talismanic Lens, Frey Norris Gallery, San Francisco, CA (solo)

2007 urrealism: Dreams on Canvas, Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, NY

2003 Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and 20th Century Mexican Art: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL

2001–2002 Surrealism: Desire Unbound, The Tate, London, England and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

1999 Mirror Images: Women, Surrealism and Self-Representation, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Surrealism: Two Private Eyes/The Nesuhi Ertegun and Daniel Filipacchi Collections, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY

1993 Regards des Femmes, Musée d'Art Moderne, Lieja, France
Sujeto-Objeto, Museo Regional de Guanajuato, Guanajuato y Museo de Monterrey, Moneterrey, Mexico

1991 Galería de Arte del Auropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México, Mexico City, Mexico (solo)
Serpentine Gallery, London, England (solo)
Sainsbury, Norwich, England (solo)
Arnolfini, Bristol, England (solo)
The Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA (solo)
1990 Art Company, Leeds, England (solo)
Brewster Gallery, New York, NY (solo)

1989 Museo Nacional de la Estampa, INBA, Mexico (solo)1987Brewster Gallery, New York, NY (solo)
Art Space Mirage, Tokyo, Japan (solo)
Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York, NY (solo)

1970 Impressionism to Surrealism, Worthing Art Gallery, Worthing, England

1969 The Surrealists, Byron Gallery, New York, NY
Galerie Pierre, Paris, France (solo)
Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Sala Nacional, Mexico (solo)
Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Mexico (solo)
Galería de Arte Mexicano, Mexico City, Mexico (solo)

1968 Artistas Británicos en México 1800/1968, Instituto Anglo-Mexicano de Cultura, Mexico

1967 IX Bienal de Pintura, São Paulo, Brazil1966Surrealism: A State of Mind, Universidad de California, Santa Barbara, CA
Surrealismo y Arte Fantástico en México, Galeria Universitaria, Aristos, Mexico

1965 Galería Antonio Souza, Mexico City, Mexico (solo)
Instituto Cultural Anglo-Mexicano, Mexico (solo)
Galería Clardecor, Mexico City, Mexico (solo)

1963 Pinturas de la colección de Edward James, Worthing Art Gallery, Worthing, England1961El Retrato Mexicano Contemporáneo, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, Mexico

1959 Eros Galerie, Daniel Cordier, Paris, France1956Galería de Arte Mexicano, Mexico City, Mexico (solo)

1943 Exposición de 31 mujeres artistas, Arte de este siglo, New York, NY
First Papers of Surrealism, Madison Avenue Gallery, New York, NY
20th Century Portraits, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

1942 Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, NY (solo)

1938 Esposition du Surréalisme, Galerie Robert, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme, Galerie Beaux-Arts, Paris, France