Marie Laurencin (French 1883–1956) was a French painter, designer, and illustrator who found success despite the male-dominated art world of her time. She began her studies in porcelain design at the Ecole de Sèvres factory before moving on to painting at the Académie Humbert in Paris. At the time, between 1903 and 1904, classes were free for women. While there she met
Georges Braque and
Francis Picabia, who introduced her to their inner circle of artists, including those who participated in the
Le Bateau-Lavoir workshop in Montmartre, the quarter of Paris in which Laurencin was born.
In 1907, she exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants. After a series of shows, including an exhibition alongside
Robert Delaunay at the Galerie Barbazanges in Paris, Laurencin participated in the New York Armory Show in 1913.
Laurencin lived in Spain during the First World War, but eventually moved back to Paris and began developing her own style, focusing on figural and portrait work in delicate pastels and airy shading. The 1920s proved to be an important period for Laurencin, as her refined style and palette heightened her popularity as a portraitist among the elite.
By the early 1930s, she was experimenting with still lifes and landscapes. Laurencin was also commissioned to design stage sets and costumes for several French ballets. She died in Paris in 1956, but her work has been honored in numerous exhibitions; most recently in a retrospective at the Musée Marmottan in Paris.