Not a Muse – a Movement
“There's no such thing as a woman artist. There’s just art and artists.” -Leonora Carrington
Welcome to She Made That🖌️
A weekly short art story from my self-taught rabbit hole of inspiring women.
I didn’t study art in school. I study artists in life. Especially the strange ones. The ones who didn’t fit in—who made their own mythologies. That’s how I found Leonora Carrington. Her work is like a fairytale written during a thunderstorm. I couldn’t stop looking.
Leonora Carrington once fled a convent, escaped a mental asylum, and said no to marriage proposals from Max Ernst. All before the age of 25.
Carrington was born into a wealthy English family who wanted her to be proper. She wanted to be a painter. And a writer. And maybe a shapeshifter. She met Max Ernst, fell into surrealism (and love), and ran off to Paris. But when the Nazis arrested Ernst, everything unraveled.
Leonora was institutionalized in Spain. Given drugs she didn’t want and diagnoses she didn’t ask for. When she was released, she escaped—ran away—and talked her way into the Mexican embassy in Lisbon. She later married a Mexican diplomat and landed in Mexico City, where she made her real life begin.
She painted magical creatures and dream logic. She wrote wild, strange stories. Her work is full of transformation—women turning into animals, animals turning into keys. (I, too, am a big fan of magical realism. I love things turning into other things!)
Carrington once said, “I didn’t have time to be anyone’s muse. I was too busy rebelling against my destiny.”
Leonora Carrington’s life wasn’t linear. It was a labyrinth. But every strange turn she took, she made into art.
This makes me want to delve in and learn more. Her dream work reminds me of Marc Chagall. Leonora Carrrington sounds like a fascinating person. Thanks for sharing your passion for art and artists, Annie. You continue to inspire!
"I warn you, I refuse to be an object.” 👍🏻👏🏻