Leonor Fini (Argentine/French, 1907–1996) was a painter, graphic designer, illustrator, and set and costume designer associated with the Surrealist movement. Born in Buenos Aires, the largely self-taught artist moved to Italy, where she held her first solo exhibition in 1929. In 1931, she relocated to Paris, and soon became associated with the Surrealists, first exhibiting with them in 1933. While there, she befriended and a number of famous artists, including
Paul Éluard,
Salvador Dalí,
Man Ray, and
Max Ernst.
Attracting the attention of American dealer Julien Levy, Fini traveled to New York in 1936, where she took part in a joint gallery exhibition with Ernst, and met American surrealists, including
Joseph Cornell and
Pavel Tchelitchew. Her work was included in The Museum of Modern Art’s seminal exhibition
Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism, along with
Giorgio De Chirico, Dalí, Ernst, and
Yves Tanguy.
In 1939 in Paris, she curated an exhibition of Surrealist furniture for her childhood friend
Leo Castelli for the opening of his first gallery.
Fini’s art focused on the complex relationship between men and women, primarily the interaction between the dominant female and the passive male. In many of her works, the female figure takes the form of a sphinx, often with the face of the artist. In addition, Fini was also an accomplished portrait painter, and her subjects included many of the most famous artists, actresses, and socialites of the day.
Fini was also an accomplished stage and screen designer, creating award-winning sets, costumes, and posters for the Paris Opera and the Metropolitan Opera Association, George Balanchine’s
Le Palais de cristal, Anouilh’s
Les Demoiselles de la nuit, Renato Castellani’s
Romeo and Juliet, Federico Fellini’s
8 ½, and John Huston’s
A Walk with Love, among others.
Fini died in Paris.