Dorothea Tanning's Legacy as Surrealist Artist and Patron Remembered

Dorothea Tanning, who died in 2012 at 101, established a distinctive artistic identity apart from contemporaries like Max Ernst and Leonora Carrington. Her 1942 painting 'Birthday' stands out in the Surrealist movement, and her 1969 fabric sculptures foreshadowed the works of artists such as Louise Bourgeois and Sarah Lucas. Tanning preferred not to be labeled as a 'woman artist' or a 'Surrealist,' instead valuing her roles as a lover of literature, music, and theater. She published her own poetry collection, also called 'Birthday,' and worked with other writers. Her installation 'Hôtel du Pavot, Chambre 202' (1970–73) is part of the Pompidou collection. Tanning lived on Fifth Avenue in New York, hosting prominent figures like composer Robert Ashley. The exhibition 'In Wonderland' ran at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from January 29 to May 6, 2012, while Carrington's work was displayed at Pallant House in Chichester. In her later years, Tanning often rejected academic attempts to pigeonhole her art.