“Do not give up hope entirely in spite of the horror of your situation. I am mobilising all my mental capacities to obtain your unconditional freedom.” ~Leonora Carrington, The Hearing Trumpet

Leonora Carrington was a British born, naturalized Mexican artist who was one of the few women recognized in the surrealist movement. San Luis Potosí is the home of an incredible collection of her work, in an old prison, near the center of town.

Her life was fascinating and of course filled with drama. Not unlike some female artists of the past, she was hospitalized for ‘anxiety’ and ‘hysteria’, but ultimately became an essential member of the surrealist movement.

Carrington worked with themes of magical realism and alchemy, incorporating animal human hybrid creatures infused with the legend of her adopted Mexican culture.

Leonora Carrington died at the age of 94 in 2011, in Mexico City.