Aug 22, 2024 - Sale 2677

Sale 2677 - Lot 79

Price Realized: $ 1,950
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000

LEONOR FINI (1908-1996)


Untitled (Three Portraits).
Ink on cream wove paper. 154x241 mm; 6x9½ inches.

Provenance: private collection, Massachusetts.

Fini was an Argentine-Italian Surrealist painter, illustrator, designer and author; she was openly bisexual and had a polyamorous relationship. She was known for her bold, dramatic, and often erotic works. Fini was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and moved to Italy when she was a young child. As a teenager, she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. Fini also attended the University of Bologna, where she met Italian Futurist Filippo Marinetti and became part of the Italian avant-garde movement.

In the 1930s, Fini traveled to Paris and became part of the Surrealist circle, working in connection with André Breton, Max Ernst and Salvador Dalí. Throughout her career, she produced a wide range of works in various media, including paintings, illustrations, costumes, designs and books. Fini's paintings are characterized by bold colors and highly stylized figures, often depicting powerful female protagonists. Her later works frequently included mythological and allegorical elements.

Fini was a fiercely independent artist, rejecting traditional roles for women and refusing to be categorized or labeled. Her works have been exhibited widely in museums and galleries around the world with growing popularity posthumously, and her legacy continues to influence contemporary art today.