Farewell To The Muse: Love, War And The Women Of Surrealism
by Whitney Chadwick /
2017 / English / EPUB
57 MB Download
A fascinating examination of the ambitions and
friendships of a talented group of midcentury women
artists
A fascinating examination of the ambitions and
friendships of a talented group of midcentury women
artistsFarewell to the Muse
Farewell to the Muse documents what it meant to be
young, ambitious, and female in the context of an avant-garde
movement defined by celebrated men whose backgrounds were often
quite different from those of their younger lovers and
companions. Focusing on the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, Whitney
Chadwick charts five female friendships among the Surrealists to
show how Surrealism, female friendship, and the experiences of
war, loss, and trauma shaped individual women’s transitions from
someone else’s muse to mature artists in their own right. Her
vivid account includes the fascinating story of Claude Cahun and
Suzanne Malherbe in occupied Jersey, as well as the experiences
of Lee Miller and Valentine Penrose at the front line.
documents what it meant to be
young, ambitious, and female in the context of an avant-garde
movement defined by celebrated men whose backgrounds were often
quite different from those of their younger lovers and
companions. Focusing on the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, Whitney
Chadwick charts five female friendships among the Surrealists to
show how Surrealism, female friendship, and the experiences of
war, loss, and trauma shaped individual women’s transitions from
someone else’s muse to mature artists in their own right. Her
vivid account includes the fascinating story of Claude Cahun and
Suzanne Malherbe in occupied Jersey, as well as the experiences
of Lee Miller and Valentine Penrose at the front line.
Chadwick draws on personal correspondence between women,
including the extraordinary letters between Leonora Carrington
and Leonor Fini during the months following the arrest and
imprisonment of Carrington’s lover Max Ernst and the letter Frida
Kahlo shared with her friend and lover Jacqueline Lamba years
after it was written in the late 1930s.
Chadwick draws on personal correspondence between women,
including the extraordinary letters between Leonora Carrington
and Leonor Fini during the months following the arrest and
imprisonment of Carrington’s lover Max Ernst and the letter Frida
Kahlo shared with her friend and lover Jacqueline Lamba years
after it was written in the late 1930s.
This history brings a new perspective to the political context of
Surrealism as well as fresh insights on the vital importance of
female friendship to its progress.
This history brings a new perspective to the political context of
Surrealism as well as fresh insights on the vital importance of
female friendship to its progress.50 illustrations, 20 in color
50 illustrations, 20 in color