Leonor Fini was the life of the party during the French Surrealist movement. A socialite with connections to some of the movement's biggest names, Fini was also an astoundingly gifted artist in her own right. In fact, many consider her to be the most fiercely independent female artist of the 20th century. A theatrical personality, Fini created prints, paintings and drawings that are widely revered for their sensuous qualities and raw energy.
Fini's life started off in a dramatic fashion, which was perhaps a portent of things to come. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1907, but her parents separated soon after and her mother took her away to Trieste, Italy. Due to her father's attempts to kidnap her, Fini was often dressed as a boy throughout her childhood.
Fini was surrounded by artistic women in Trieste, and she naturally developed a love for art as well. By the time she was 17, she had become familiar with Renaissance art and Mannerist painting and was exhibiting her own portraits. In 1931, at just 24 years of age, Fini moved to Paris and became acquainted with influential artists Giorgio de Chirico and Carlos Carrà. She also met and started a romantic relationship with Surrealist pioneer Max Ernst, who introduced her to others in the movement.
Though she had no formal art education, Fini proved herself to be both technically masterful and creatively exceptional. Her work and her flamboyant personality attracted the attention of many of the 20th century's most celebrated artists and thinkers, including Salvador Dalí, Jean Cocteau, Albert Camus and Jean Genet, just to name a very few. She exhibited her work in many Parisian art galleries, including the gallery of Christian Dior before the fashion icon became a designer.
In the 1950s, Fini continued painting while immersing herself in other artistic and dramatic endeavors, including theater costume and mask design. She also designed posters for the Paris Opera and wardrobes for movies.
Fini continued living and painting in Paris for the rest of her life. She died in 1996.
On 1stDibs, find original Leonor Fini prints, paintings and drawings.
Erotic Couple - Surrealism Argentinian French Erotic Couple
By Leonor Fini
Located in London, GB
This drawing by Leonor Fini is hand signed by the artist in brown ink "Leonor Fini" in the lower right image. It was executed in 1977. This work is from a sketchbook. Condition: Ve...
Paper, Ink
Etudes de Sphinx (Sphinx and Cat)
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Leonor Fini (Argentine-French, 1907 - 1996) was an independent and visionary artist whose work defied categorization within Surrealism, despite her association with its key figures i...
Ink
$7,500
Face - Ink on Paper Unique Signed Drawing Surrealist Woman Painter, c. 1960
By Leonor Fini
Located in New York, NY
Leonor Fini Face, ca. 1960 Ink on paper 9 x 11 cm 3 1/2 x 4 1/3 in. 28 x 30 cm 11 x 11 7/8 in. (Frame included) Unique work Exhibition History: Leonor Fini: Small Faces, April 7 -...
Paper, Ink
"Untitled" Leonor Fini, Ink on Paper, Signed Drawing, Surrealist Woman, 1965
By Leonor Fini
Located in New York, NY
Leonor Fini Nude women, ca. 1965 Ink on paper 13 × 13 in l 33 × 33 cm Frame included - 18 x 18 in l 46 x 46 cm Signed lower right Condition: Excellent condition Leonor Fini (1907–1...
Ink, Laid Paper
$5,500
Portrait - Ink on Paper Unique Signed Drawing Surrealist Woman Painter, c. 1960
By Leonor Fini
Located in New York, NY
Leonor Fini Portrait, ca. 1960 Ink on paper 14.5 x 10 cm 5 1/2 x 4 in. 37.5 x 33 cm 14 1/2 x 13 in. (Frame included) Unique work Exhibition history: Leonor Fini: Small Faces, Apri...
Paper, Ink, Graphite
Erotic Couple - Surrealism Argentinian French Erotic Couple
By Leonor Fini
Located in London, GB
This drawing by Leonor Fini is hand signed by the artist in black ink "Leonor Fini" in the lower right image. It is additionally annotated ‘4’ in black ink in the lower right corner....
Paper, Ink
$8,758
Leonor Fini. "Costume d’écorche". ca. 1950. Watercolor on paper. 37 x 39 cm.
By Leonor Fini
Located in BARCELONA, ES
Leonor Fini (Buenos Aires, 1907 – París, 1996) "Costume d’écorche". Watercolor on paper. 37 x 39 cm (67 x 57.5 cm). Provenance: - Private collection, Pierre Spivakoff (1933-2012)...
Paper, Watercolor
The Dance
By Leonor Fini
Located in London, GB
LEONOR FINI 1908-1996 Buenos Aires 1908-1996 Paris Title: The Dance, ca. 1965 Technique: Original Signed Sepia Ink Drawing on paper size: 40.5 x 33 cm / 12.6 x 15.9 in Additional Information: This work by Leonor Fini is hand signed in the lower right part "Léonor Fini" It is probably a study for one of the illustrations Fini created for the publication "Aveuglément Orphée" by Jacques Izoard. Provenance: Photo Certificate by Richard Overstreet...
Ink
Face and Flowers
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, in the full swing of the Surrealist movement....
Etching
$7,000
Face II - Ink on Paper Unique Signed Drawing Surrealist Woman Painter, c. 1960
By Leonor Fini
Located in New York, NY
Leonor Fini Face II, ca. 1960 Ink on paper 11 x 8.5 cm 4 1/3 x 3 1/8 in. 23 x 20 cm 9 x 7 7/8 in. (Frame included) Unique work Exhibition History: Leonor Fini: Small Faces, April ...
Paper, Ink
$51,451
Leonor Fini, Blue and Green Face (Visage Bleu et Vert), Watercolour, 1940s
By Leonor Fini
Located in London, GB
Signed Watercolour and gouache on paper 16 x 12 inches Blue and Green Face (Visage Bleu et Vert), painted in 1948, is typical of Leonor Fini’s approach to portraiture, in that the s...
Watercolor, Gouache
$20,580
Leonor Fini, Cat Amongst Flowers (Chat aux Fleurs), Watercolour and Ink Drawing
By Leonor Fini
Located in London, GB
Signed Ink and watercolour on paper 10 x 6 1/2 inches Believing that paintings were something like pieces of theatre, Leonor Fini’s surreal works are highly theatrical in their depi...
Ink, Watercolor
$460Sale Price|20% Off
H 14.25 in W 14.25 in D 1 in
Fashionable Faces, Surrealist Figurative Line Drawing
Located in Soquel, CA
Fun and playful figurative line drawing with three stylized female faces by SusanBrooks (American, b. 1951), 1985. Signed and dated in the lowe...
Paper, Pencil
$69,500
H 26.875 in W 35.625 in
Untitled (Giraffe), Original Crayon and Pencil Drawing on Paper, 1966
By Alexander Calder
Located in Aventura, FL
Original crayon and pencil drawing on cut-out paper mounted on board. Hand signed with artist's initials CA. Executed in 1966, this work is registered in the archives of the Calder...
Paper, Crayon, Pencil
$220
H 18 in W 14 in D 0.13 in
A Fabulous, Surrealist 1946 Mid-Century Modern Abstract Portrait of a Young Man
By Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A Fabulous, Surrealist 1946 Mid-Century Modern Abstract Portrait of a Young Man by Noted Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). Titled "Introspective Stare", the drawing is ...
Paper, Charcoal
$3,523
H 11.74 in W 7.96 in
17th Century Roman Old Master Drawing of Penitent Saint Peter and the Rooster
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
Roman School, 17th century, circa 1606 to 1630 Circle of Giovanni Baglione (Rome, 1566 to 1643/44) The Penitent Saint Peter, also known as Saint Peter and the Rooster Pen and brown...
Ink, Laid Paper
$2,650
H 30 in W 24 in D 0.25 in
California Figurative School Berkeley San Francisco Two Figures by Omer Sahingil
By Omer Ferdi Sahingil
Located in Soquel, CA
A commanding monochrome charcoal work, Turkish-American artist Ömer Şahingil (Turkish/American, 1915-1976) delivers a rigorous study of the human physique, cultural identity, and arc...
Charcoal, Laid Paper
$281
H 8.27 in W 5.63 in D 0.01 in
Duet of Light and Shadow: Dance of Light and Shadow in Mixed Media
By Marina Skvortsova
Located in Oslo, NO
The painting, created using mixed media, features two figures positioned in a dynamic pose, as if frozen in a moment of dance. On a small format of 21 by 29 cm, one can focus on the ...
Paper, Acrylic, Pencil
$1,751
H 6.5 in W 4.34 in
Italian School, 16th Century - Virgin And Child - Old Master Drawing
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
Italian School, 16th century Virgin and Child Pen, brown ink on paper 16.5 x 11 cm Unsigned Provenance: Private collection This sheet, attributed to the Italian school of the 16...
Ink, Laid Paper
$600
H 19.5 in W 13.75 in D 0.1 in
Pity June 4th. Nude watercolor on paper
By Celso José Castro Daza
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Throughout his artistic career, Castro has exalted the figure and genitality of the Latin American man, putting into tension the limits imposed by the sex/gender system that are part of an unquestionable patriarchal and phallocentric order. The majority of those portrayed are inhabitants of the Colombian coast, also constructing alternative ways of conceiving Latin American identity. By breaking taboos about corporality and male sexuality, his work has been censored on numerous occasions due to public accusations of immorality and pornography. Celso Castro’s work is a bare-bulb erotic photo...
Pastel, Watercolor, Paper, Ink
$1,200
H 30 in W 21 in D 0.5 in
A Compelling Surrealist, Mid-Century Modern Ink Drawing, Standing Nude - Beach
By Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A Compelling, 1961 Surrealist Mid-Century Modern Ink Drawing (Standing Nude - Beach) by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). A wonderful, large ink drawing by Hay...
Ink, Handmade Paper
$400
H 19.5 in W 13.75 in D 0.1 in
Jaider Portrait. Watercolor, Ink and Pastel on Archival Paper.
By Celso José Castro Daza
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Drawing on paper is his basic work tool, some are sketches of his surviving works, others are sketches of moments he documents. Undefined by medium, Celso Castro’s works each carry...
Watercolor, Pastel, Paper, Ink
$3,250
H 22 in W 29.5 in
A Machine that Creates Nomads, Surrealist Ink on paper by Dimitri Petrov
By Dimitri Petrov
Located in Long Island City, NY
Dimitri Petrov, American (1919 - 1986) - This is Not an Idea for a Machine that Creates Nomads, Year: 1976, Medium: Ink on paper, signed, Size: 22 x 29.5 in. (55.88 x 74.93 cm)
Ink
$440Sale Price|20% Off
H 22 in W 24 in D 1 in
Three Poses - Original Male Nude Figurative Drawing on Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
Three Poses - Original Male Nude Figurative Drawing on Paper Original male figurative drawing on paper depicting a nude male posing in three diff...
India Ink, Laid Paper
Sold
H 4.34 in W 3.35 in
Face III - Ink on Paper Unique Signed Drawing Surrealist Woman Painter, c. 1960
By Leonor Fini
Located in New York, NY
Leonor Fini Face III, ca. 1960 Ink on paper 11 x 8.5 cm 4 1/3 x 3 1/8 in. 23 x 20 cm 9 x 7 7/8 in. (Frame included) Unique work Exhibition History: Leonor Fini: Small Faces, April...
Paper, Ink
Sold
H 5.52 in W 4.34 in
Character - Ink on Paper Unique Signed Drawing Surrealist Woman Painter, c. 1960
By Leonor Fini
Located in New York, NY
Leonor Fini Character, ca. 1960 Ink on paper 14 x 11 cm 5 1/2 x 4 1/3 in. 29 x 26 cm 11 1/2 x 10 1/4 in. (Frame included) Unique work Exhibition history: Leonor Fini: Small Faces,...
Paper, Ink
Carmilla by Leonor Fini - Lithograph 31x35 cm
By Leonor Fini
Located in Geneva, CH
Edition 126 of 297 1 copy Work on paper Light brown wooden frame with glass pane 68 x 55 x 1,5 cm Leonor Fini, pseudonym of Eleonor Fini, born in Buenos Aires (Argentina) on August ...
Lithograph
Girl’s face
By Leonor Fini
Located in London, GB
LEONOR FINI 1908-1996 Buenos Aires 1908-1996 Paris Title: Girl’s face Technique: Original Signed Watercolour Drawing on Paper Size: 39.6 x 32.3 cm. / 15.6 x 12.7 in. Add...
Watercolor