Leonora Carrington

Stella Snead and Her Cat
Now On View

Maker

Leonora Carrington (English

Title

Stella Snead and Her Cat

Year

1941

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Dimensions

61 x 45.4 cm (24 x 17 7/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

inscribed on the stretcher by Stella Snead: Leonora's of me

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund

Object Number

2019.54

Type

Exhibition History

Art and Design from 1900 to Now
Jun 04, 2022 – Dec 01, 2030

Label copy

In this unfinished painting, Leonora Carrington portrays her friend and fellow artist Stella Snead. The manor house in the background, often seen in historical portraits of European nobility, is perhaps Carrington’s way of imbuing Snead with power. Snead projects strength in her leotard-like outfit as she actively twists toward a mysterious spiraling sphere. The cat, sketched below, was the subject of a painting Snead created while she and Carrington were art students in London.

This enigmatic representation reflects both artists’ association with the unconscious imagery of Surrealism. Carrington and Snead were among the many Surrealist artists who came to New York, where this painting was made, to escape the war in Europe.  

–Jan Howard, Houghton P. Metcalf Jr. Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs

Paula and Leonard Granoff Galleries
Dec 18, 2015

Image use

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Tombstone

Leonora Carrington (English
Mexican, 1917-2011
b. in England)
Stella Snead and Her Cat, 1941
Oil on canvas
61 x 45.4 cm (24 x 17 7/8 inches)
Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund 2019.54

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