Nobody鈥檚 muse: Revisiting the art of Leonora Carrington
| Waltham, Mass.
Shape-shifting creatures. Dreamscapes of greenery. Prancing hyenas and noble white horses.
These are just a few of the hallmarks of surrealist Leonora Carrington.
The artist 鈥� who was born in 1917 in England and died in 2011 鈥� was once on the periphery of the surrealist movement. But in the decade following her death, Ms. Carrington鈥檚 work has experienced a revival.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onFor her unique vision, artist and writer Leonora Carrington is among a number of creative women being celebrated anew.
While her adopted homeland of Mexico has long embraced her art, the celebration of Ms. Carrington鈥檚 legacy has reached a crescendo in other parts of the world in recent years. Her reemergence follows a trend of increased attention to fellow women creators 鈥� including writers Eve Babitz and Lucia Berlin, musician Betty Davis, and abstract artist Hilma af Klint. Many of them dot TikTok lists highlighting 鈥渨omen artists you should know鈥� and 鈥渞ecent obsessions.鈥�
The 100th anniversary of the surrealist movement last year has also brought attention to often overlooked artists, such as Dora Maar and close Carrington friend Remedios Varo.
In the case of Ms. Carrington, her 鈥淟es Distractions de Dagobert鈥� (1945) sold for $28.5 million at Sotheby鈥檚 in 2024, cementing her status as the highest-selling female artist in British history. In the past decade, there have been exhibitions in Spain, Denmark, Ireland, England, and Mexico. Her first solo exhibition in New England 鈥� at Brandeis University鈥檚 Rose Art Museum 鈥� is on display until June 1, and then moves to the Katonah Museum of Art in New York. Her first solo museum show in Italy will open in Milan this fall, followed by an exhibition in Paris in 2026. A biopic is in the works, following the artist鈥檚 life in 1930s Paris before she fled to Mexico.
To those familiar with Ms. Carrington鈥檚 work, the increase in interest reflects a renewed attention to the surrealist movement 鈥� and to Ms. Carrington鈥檚 unique artistic vision.
鈥淲hat Leonora offers 鈥� and what surrealism offers 鈥� are alternative ways of understanding the world: not through the capitalist economic system of transactional politics, but tapping into empowerment through the imagination, invisible truths, things that have to do with our subconscious,鈥� says Gannit Ankori, director and chief curator of the Rose Art Museum in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Dr. Ankori curated the museum鈥檚 exhibit 鈥淟eonora Carrington: Dream Weaver.鈥� A number of the pieces on display 鈥� including works in tempera, gouache, acrylic, oil, pencil, pen, and fiber 鈥� have rarely been seen outside private collections.
Ms. Carrington鈥檚 work, Dr. Ankori suggests, speaks to our times: It鈥檚 an escape from an often fraught political environment; an antidote to 鈥渢he conquest of the earth and its minerals, the total exploitation of nature鈥�; a subversion of gender expectations and stereotypes.
In the 1950 painting 鈥淧astoral,鈥� water fowl, a hyena, and other animals congregate around an androgynous couple as ethereal animal-human hybrids float above. Ms. Carrington often emphasized the coexistence of humans and animals in her work.
Of particular resonance to Dr. Ankori was Ms. Carrington鈥檚 love for Mexico.
鈥淭he way that Mexico is talked about by the U.S. administration today is the antithesis of Mexico as a welcoming country that embraced and offered safe haven to refugees from war-torn Europe in the 1940s,鈥� says Dr. Ankori, a professor of fine arts and women鈥檚, gender, and sexuality studies at Brandeis. 鈥淎nd these immigrants, many of them intellectuals and artists, resettled in this new, embracing homeland and felt welcome. They built community and developed cultural excellence in the arts and philosophy and literature and more.鈥�
Alongside her many paintings, textile works, and sculptures, Ms. Carrington was also a prolific writer. Her 1944 memoir, 鈥淒own Below,鈥� details her experiences of institutionalization in Spain. Her fictional work includes a wide range of surrealist short stories, plays, and novels.
The New York Review of Books began republishing her written works in 2017, with 鈥淭he Stone Door鈥� and 鈥淥pus Siniestrus: Selected Plays鈥� due in July and October, respectively.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have time to be anyone鈥檚 muse鈥�
Born into an upper-class Catholic family in England, Ms. Carrington often rebelled against the societal restrictions imposed on her. She was twice expelled from convent schools, and favored reading Irish fairy tales, Lewis Carroll, and Beatrix Potter over learning how to become the perfect debutante.
A viewing of Max Ernst鈥檚 1924 painting 鈥淭wo Children Are Threatened by a Nightingale鈥� and a copy of Herbert Read鈥檚 1936 book 鈥淪urrealism鈥� influenced her artistic development, as did her tutelage under the French modernist Am茅d茅e Ozenfant.
Women in the surrealist movement were often relegated to the role of the femme enfant 鈥� often young, beautiful women who were expected to be subservient to male artists.
Ms. Carrington, however, had other plans. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have time to be anyone鈥檚 muse,鈥� she once said. 鈥淚 was too busy rebelling against my family and learning to be an artist.鈥�
After meeting Mr. Ernst at a party in 1937, the two began a romantic and collaborative relationship. Their home became host to their surrealist friends, including Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dal铆, and Andr茅 Breton.
Mr. Ernst, who was German, would be arrested by French authorities in the outbreak of World War II, suspected of being a 鈥渉ostile alien.鈥� Ms. Carrington eventually found her way to Mexico and married Hungarian photographer Em茅rico 鈥淐hiki鈥� Weisz.
There, she encountered a community of European artists who had fled the horrors of World War II, often exhibiting her art in local galleries. She became close friends with fellow 茅migr茅 and artist Ms. Varo. Together, they studied kabbalah, alchemy, Tibetan Buddhism, and Mayan mystical writings 鈥� the ideas of which feature prominently in Ms. Carrington鈥檚 art. She went on to become one of the founding members of Mexico鈥檚 1970s feminist movement.
Some say that the artist, with her sense of playfulness and curiosity, was too far ahead of her time.
Veronica and Nat Moonhill are filmmakers who have adapted Ms. Carrington鈥檚 short story 鈥淭he Debutante鈥� into a 2024 film, available on Vimeo. They were drawn to the artist鈥檚 鈥渄eeply independent spirit and commitment to her own vision,鈥� Ms. Moonhill shared during a virtual event at the Rose Art Museum recently.
鈥淪he can be such a guiding light for just saying, 鈥楯ust commit to yourself and what you see,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淪he lived so vibrantly.鈥�
On a journey with the artist
As for visitors to 鈥淟eonora Carrington: Dream Weaver,鈥� Dr. Ankori finds that people get lost in the artist鈥檚 work 鈥� sometimes standing in front of a piece for 30 minutes, sometimes crying, often regularly returning.
鈥淲ith Leonora, I sense that people feel that there鈥檚 an intimate bond with her, as if she鈥檚 taking them on a journey,鈥� Dr. Ankori says. 鈥淎nd those who are receptive to that journey learn something deep and new about the world and about themselves.鈥�
鈥淟eonora Carrington: Dream Weaver鈥� is on display at Brandeis University鈥檚 Rose Art Museum until June 1. The exhibit will move to the Katonah Museum of Art in Katonah, New York, later this year. Ms. Carrington鈥檚 first solo museum show in Italy will open at Milan鈥檚 Palazzo Reale in September, on view until January 2026. An exhibition at the Mus茅e du Luxembourg in Paris will be on view from Feb. 18 to July 19, 2026.
Editor鈥檚 note: This article has been updated to clarify which animals are featured in the painting 鈥淧astoral.鈥�
