Joanna Moorhead Bücher

A personal biography of Leonora Carrington, the debutante who ran away to Mexico and became one of the world's most significant surrealist artists.

This illustrated biography delves into the life and work of pioneering British artist and writer Leonora Carrington (1917–2011), a key figure in the history of women artists and Surrealism. Carrington's visionary interests—feminism, ecology, the mystical, and interconnectedness—resonate with contemporary themes. Defying societal norms, she left behind her family and England to explore new experiences, developing a distinctive artistic style across Europe and the Americas. Writer and journalist Joanna Moorhead traces Carrington’s journey through various locations that shaped her life and art, including Britain, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the U.S., and Mexico. The biography highlights significant places etched in Carrington's memory, such as her grandmother's kitchen, a Cornish retreat with notable artists, the Left Bank of Paris, a Spanish asylum, and her final home in Mexico City. Carrington believed that “houses are really bodies,” reflecting the deep connections between people and their environments. Featuring photographs, drawings, and paintings, this work offers an intimate portrait of an extraordinary artist whose spaces profoundly influenced her creative expression.