Kudos to Susan Aberth for giving Carrington's work it's due in this beautifully illustrated and equally beautifully written book. I had seen a couple of Carrington's paintings via Janson's, but I really had no idea of the breadth and depth of her work, or of her fascinating life until I got hold of this. Her art has been repeatedly referred to as “surrealist” and “feminist,” although she herself never embraced those labels. To me her images are too personal to qualify for such broad and lazy terms, and instead bring to mind the work of outsider artist Henry Darger in that they are strange and otherworldly and although there is obviously a narrative right there in front of your nose, you’ll never really get the whole story unless you are the artist yourself. In this book the rich reproductions of Carrington's paintings and sculptures take center stage, as they should, but there is also plenty of substance beyond the alluring and mysterious imagery. Aberth gives us a mini-biography that reads like a fun and thrilling work of fiction, although the subject makes it all too easy.
Carrington was born in England and had an Irish nanny who introduced her to the Celtic myths and legends of witchcraft and the supernatural, and those early images would inform her work for the rest of her life. Fiercely independent, she went to Paris against her parents' better wishes and soon found herself in the Surrealists' circle. Max Ernst left his wife for her and when Hitler's troops were poised to take France, his internment (he was a German on French soil) drove her into a Spanish mental institution. Her stay there would also be fodder for numerous paintings and a brilliantly unusual novel, "The Hearing Trumpet." Via Peggy Guggenheim's influence, they both were able to secure passage out of Europe, along with several other leading artists of the day, and they settled in Mexico where they soon become part of the art world there, including being guests at Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo's wedding.
I checked this one out from my library, read the book cover to cover, poured over the glorious reproductions in detail, and when that wasn't enough, I purchased my own copy of it plus a copy of "The Hearing Trumpet" so I could experience Carrington's written work, too. (It demands its own review, which will be coming shortly.)
Carrington passed away just a few weeks ago, at the ripe old age of 94. While I was saddened deeply by the news, I was very glad to know that Aberth's book had been published a few years before she died, so she could enjoy seeing her work and life's memories collected for a new generation before she left us.
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