Women Mystics: Leonora Carrington

26 Feb Women Mystics: Leonora Carrington

Leonora Carrington (1917-2011) was an artist, occultist, surrealist, feminist, novelist, and wisdom teacher. Her influence has only been growing since her death, and by her inclusion in the revisioning of the surrealist movement from a boys’ club to a movement in which important women artists flourished. She has also been re-discovered by feminists interested in occultism for her beautiful and highly evocative tarot card deck.

Carrington was born into wealth in Britain, was expelled from several schools, and moved to Paris where she became acquainted with the artists of the surrealist movement. She became involved with Max Ernst, who when he was arrested by the Nazis, spurred a mental breakdown and hospitalization for Carrington. She later fled to Mexico where she spent the rest of her life, becoming active as a painter and in the Women’s Liberation Movement.

Carrington’s work focused on magical realism, and she was interested in expressing female sexuality as she experienced it, rather than by the male surrealists’ characterizations. Her work often focused on the theme of women’s role in the creative process and is rich with myth and symbolism. She and fellow painter, Remedios Varo, studied alchemy, mystical writings, and the kabbalah. One of Carrington’s lasting legacies is her demonstration that women should be seen as artists in their own right and not as muses for male artists. Her son has been carrying on and building on her legacy.

References

Aberth, S. & Arcq, T. (2022). The Tarot of Leonora Carrington. Editorial RM

Fort, I. S. & Arcq, T. (Eds.). (2012). In wonderland: The surrealist adventures of women artists in Mexico and the United States. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

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