She was the second of three daughters of a worker’s family, who emigrated from Sweden. She expressed love for art from an early age, reading and illustrating books of L. Carroll and G.-H. Andersen in her own way.
1910 - 2012
Dorothea Tanning
description
An American Swedish-born artist who worked with her spouse M. Ernst in France for thirty years. Dorothea Tanning, a prominent representative of surrealism, is famous in Europe and the USA as not only an artist, but also as a sculptor and graphic artist, a book designer and set designer, as well as an author of significant literary works.
All the works of D. Tanning – from painting and sculpture to poetry – deeply influenced the next generations of artists. The investigations and examples of so called «female form of art» were frequently used by the members of the feminist movement. Along with other surrealist women, Tanning provided the necessary active model for women who also tried to get free from limited opinion and become independent artists. It is noteworthy that her experiments in sculpture influenced the creative career of Louise Bourgeois, and Sara Lucas, who showed the same intense interest in the basic psychedelic ideas of Surrealism.
The 100th anniversary of the artist was celebrated with numerous exhibitions around the world, in particular, early projects for the stage in the Drawing Center in New York, paintings in the Galerie Bel’Art, Stockholm, Sweden, and the exposition «Happy Birthday Dorothea Tanning» in the Max Ernst Museum in Seillans, France.
Paintings and sculptures of Dorothea Tanning are presented in leading museums and galleries in Europe and the USA and are highly valued at art auctions.
Key ideas:
– Tanning was a naturally talented self-taught artist; she studied, apart from several weeks at the Chicago Art Institute, by visiting museums and galleries and communicating with colleagues.
– Like those of other Surrealists, especially Magritte and Dali, Tanning’s paintings are often direct illustrations of her dreams. She sought to make a complex psychology visible, revealed a special interest in the unconscious, experienced through sleep. She depicted at least one figure with closed or blindfolded eyes in almost each painting.
– Tanning’s painting is characterized by seething progressive energy. Her passion for dynamism, as she thought, was due to the fact that she was born during a terrible storm. Her interest in the constant movement is also a reference to the ideology of the Italian Futurists. Even fabric folds often helped the artist emphasize the flow of painting.
– In the 1950s, the art of Tanning underwent a considerable stylistic shift. Before her paintings were filled with fabulous figurative landscapes; now they became almost fully abstract. The author herself shrewdly said about these changes that her canvases «literally split up», she said, «I broke the mirror».
– Sexual energy pulsates in many of the artist’s works, both in painting and in sculpture. Clothes on young girls are unbutonned or look disheveled; their gorgeous hair gets independent life; this results in the fact that the line between innocence and experience becomes blurred.
1910
1930
1936
1943
1946
1949
1952
1959
1974
1980
1986
2010
2012
The birth of the artist
She moved to Chicago and began to study painting and drawing
Not having completed her studies at the Knox Humanitarian Institute, she moved to Chicago and began to study painting and drawing, attending evening classes at the Academy. Then, after moving to New York, she worked as a designer at an advertising agency.
In New York, she discovered contemporary art for herself
At the exhibition “Fantastic Art: Dada and Surrealism” in New York, she discovered contemporary art for herself, which predetermined her entire future career. She traveled to California, then spent the years before the beginning of World War II in Europe.
“31 Women”
Entering the group that was formed by Andre Breton in New York, she acted as an exhibitor in the show “31 Women” (first exhibited her famous self-portrait “Birthday”), organized by Peggy Guggenheim. The following year, the artist’s successful personal exhibition was held at the Julien Levy Gallery.
Married M. Ernst
Married M. Ernst (double wedding with a pair of Man Ray and Juliet Browner). The couple moved to Sedon, Arizona, where they stayed permanently until 1956, visiting Dorothea’s homeland every summer.
“The Seven Spectral Hazards”
While in Paris, she created her first lithograph album, “The Seven Spectral Hazards”.
The first exhibition of the artist in Paris
The first exhibition of the artist in Paris was held at the gallery Frustemberg. The couple lived in Touraine, having bought a house there. In 1954, she held an exhibition in London.
Her paintings were exhibited at the second Documenta exhibition in Kassel
Her paintings were exhibited at the second Documenta exhibition in Kassel (Germany). Soon the couple moved to the town of Seillans in the south of France (Var department), having built a magnificent villa there.
The large retrospective of the artist's works
A large retrospective of the artist’s works was presented at the Center Pompidou in Paris. A year later, her husband, artist Max Ernst, died.
Returned to New York
Returned to New York four years after the death of M. Ernst. Spent the rest of her life traveling between Los Angeles, New York and France. Her last picture was a part of the series “Flowers”, which she completed in 1998. She then focused mainly on poetry.
Published her memoirs "Birthday"
Published her memoirs “Birthday”; her second book of memoirs, “Between Lives,” was published in 2001. She also published the novel “The Abyss” and two books of poems; the last one, “Coming to That”, was issued in 2011.
The 100th anniversary of the artist
For the 100th anniversary of the artist, M. Ernst Museum in Seillans (France), the Drawing Center in New York, the Galerie Bel’Art in Stockholm and other museums and galleries held anniversary exhibitions of D. Tanning’s paintings.
The death of the artist
. Dorothea Tanning died on January 31, 2012 in Manhattan, New York, USA.