“Unveiling the Sensational Legacy of Leonor Fini: From Art Basel Triumph to Record-Breaking Auctions – What You Didn’t Know About the Bold Argentine Surrealist!”
At this year’s Art Basel in Miami Beach, one of the most talked-about exhibits is dedicated to the Argentine-born artist Leonor Fini, associated with the Surrealist movement. Despite being overshadowed by her male counterparts during her lifetime, Fini is now gaining increased attention from both the public and the art market. This marks the first time her work is being showcased at the Florida art fair.
The exhibit is a collaborative effort between Galerie Minsky in Paris and San Francisco’s Weinstein Gallery. The partnership, initiated two decades ago, traces back to the meeting of Galerie Minsky founder Arlette Souhami and Weinstein Gallery founder Rowland Weinstein.
Leonor Fini
Serving as a retrospective, the display features a range of Fini’s art, from well-known portraits of Parisian society to works on paper, masks, and Surrealist furniture. Prices for the artworks on display vary from approximately $12,000 to $3.5 million, surpassing Fini’s previous auction record.
According to Victor Picou, the director of Galerie Minsky, the market for Fini’s work has experienced a surge in recent years. A significant catalyst was the 2021 sale of a 1938 self-portrait at Sotheby’s New York, fetching $2.3 million with fees, marking her highest-priced auctioned work to date.
Picou notes a growing demand for Fini’s Surrealist portraits, with unexpected interest in her works on paper. Expressing satisfaction, he mentions, “We’re really happy, because she loved working on paper.”
Born in Buenos Aires to an Italian mother and an Argentine father, Fini spent over 60 years in Paris, where she gained recognition. The approaching 100th anniversary of the Surrealist movement, to be commemorated with a major exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, has contributed to the heightened interest in Fini’s work. Picou reveals that the exhibition organizers have expressed interest in a piece currently available at the stand, titled “14 Chats dans la Forêt” (1968). Despite rejecting labels like “Surrealist” and declining an invitation to join the group, Fini associated with prominent figures such as Salvador Dalí, Leonora Carrington, and Max Ernst. A retrospective of Fini’s work is scheduled for Milan next year.
Leonor Fini, who passed away in Paris in 1996, was a controversial artist in her time. Her work challenged strict gender roles, depicting men and women in ways that defied societal norms. The eroticism in her art was provocative to contemporary audiences, reflecting Fini’s avant-garde and liberated approach. As Picou describes, “She was a free person in all different ways—in her paintings, in her lifestyle, in everything. She was really ahead of her time.”
