The adventurous life story of artist Leonora Carrington, the leading woman of surrealism

Among the great surrealist artists, men predominate. Salvador Dali, Max Ernst and René Magritte are most often mentioned. Of the women, perhaps only Frida Kahlo can be mentioned. Only the most subtle connoisseurs of the movement know about Leonora Carrington. Meanwhile, she is called "the main woman of surrealism" and even "the last of the surrealists".

Leonora Carrington was born in 1917 into an aristocratic English family. Although her parents were considered very religious people, Leonora and her three brothers grew up in complete freedom. The older members of the family were immersed in their own important affairs, and the children were looked after by servants.

The Carrington family lived in a real castle surrounded by forest. From an early age, Leonora dreamed of fairy-tale adventures, fairies and unicorns. Her Irish nanny kindled the girl's interest in magic by telling her ancient legends of her homeland. Later, some characters from childhood dreams and fairy tales appeared on the artist's canvases.

At the age of nine, Leonora's carefree life came to an end. Her father, striving to give his daughter a good education, sent her to a prestigious Catholic school. But young Carrington did not fit in among the nuns. Accustomed to complete freedom, she immediately found herself among the lagging students. Some of the girl's antics even frightened her teachers. For example, Leonora skillfully wrote with both her right and left hands.

Just six months later, Leonora was declared mentally retarded and expelled from school. Then her father sent his wayward daughter to the school for noble girls at St. Mary's Convent in Ascot. But nothing came of this good idea either. Leonora returned home and began to live as before. Everything changed when her mother gave her a set of watercolours. The girl immediately felt: this is what she wants to do.

Having mastered watercolor, Leonora insisted on being sent to art school. At first, her father refused for a long time, but eventually agreed. He paid for her studies in Florence. Later, the young artist continued to master painting in London, at the famous Academy of Arts. Everything went well for her, the teachers praised the student, and Leonora's parents finally came to terms with their daughter's choice and calmed down.

But soon the daughter gave her parents an unpleasant surprise. At twenty, she dropped out of school and went to Paris with 46-year-old artist Max Ernst. Not only was he much older than her, but he was also married. This act was the last straw for the Carringtons, and they abandoned their daughter.

The artist's chosen one turned out to be a pretty good man. He did not deceive his young lover, but dissolved the marriage and began to live with Leonora. The girl was delighted with Paris. Ernst introduced her to his circle of friends, surrealist artists.

Women were never treated as equals in this company, but Carrington quickly became one of them. At first she was accepted as a charming young muse, and soon she was being treated as an accomplished creative person.

But even Paris soon bored the artist – she always gravitated towards freedom and space. Together with Ernst, Carrington left the capital and chose a quiet village in the south of France to live and work. The lovers were happy and made plans for the future. Their dreams were destroyed by World War II. In the first days of the conflict, Ernst, a German by birth, was arrested and accused of espionage.

Leonora made several attempts to rescue her beloved, but failed. At that time, she began to suffer from severe depression. The situation was complicated by the fact that the secret services also became interested in the artist. The woman had to flee to Spain. In a foreign country, where she knew no one, Carrington became even more melancholy. Her illness progressed, and soon she ended up in a psychiatric clinic.

Doctors considered the patient a difficult case and treated her with the strongest drugs. They managed to save Leonora from madness, but her personality changed forever. The woman became cold and distant. She wrote about it herself: "It was very much like I was dead."

Max Ernst was luckier. An admirer of his talent, the American philanthropist Peggy Guggenheim, bought him out of prison for a considerable sum. The lovers reunited and, on Peggy's advice, left Europe, settling in the USA. They chose New York to live and work in, where they soon married.

The subsequent story of Leonora Carrington resembles a spy novel. Her father suddenly decided to return his daughter to the family. He had serious connections and practically unlimited money. Carrington Sr. sent a submarine to the USA to fetch his daughter. On board, in addition to the crew, were Leonora's favorite Irish nanny and a group of bodyguards.

According to her father's plan, the elderly nanny was supposed to persuade the obstinate daughter to return to England. If that didn't work, Plan B involved a banal kidnapping. At that time, Leonora was undergoing another course of treatment in a psychiatric clinic. She managed to escape both the orderlies and her father's "special forces".

Realizing that staying in the US is dangerous, the artist comes up with an unusual plan. She enters into a fictitious marriage with a Mexican diplomat, an old friend of hers from the Parisian party scene. He takes his new wife to Mexico, where Max Ernst soon arrives.

During the turbulent wartime, many artists from Europe moved to Mexico. Leonora found herself back in the familiar environment of creative people with whom she had once socialized in Paris. Her marriage with Ernst fell apart, but the woman found a new love. Her chosen one was photographer Emirico Weiss. They got married and spent many happy years in Mexico, raising two children.

Carrington became fascinated with Aztec and Mayan art, which greatly influenced her later works. The artist’s canvases intricately intertwine Indian myths with Celtic legends. Her paintings are bright and saturated with colors, but at the same time imbued with a dark mood.

Leonora's paintings feature people, bird-people, gnomes, giants, snakes, horses, hyenas, and half-crocodiles. Over time, Carrington also became interested in sculpture. On May 25, 2011, the artist passed away from complications of pneumonia. One art critic said that Carrington's death marked the end of the era of the great surrealists.

Why do you think Leonora Carrington's name is less well known than her male counterparts? Lack of recognition, choice of subject, or something else? Let's discuss in the comments!