Famous Artist Couples: Love, Collaboration, and Enduring Partnerships
DailyArt Magazine showcases artist couples whose partnerships embody collaboration and commitment, countering the stereotype of the tormented artist. Featured are Evelyn and William De Morgan, who focused on social reform; Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines, together since 1918 and co-founders of the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing; Maggi Hambling and Victoria Dennistoun, who have been partners for 35 years; Gilbert & George, who have shared over 50 years; Anni and Josef Albers, both Bauhaus graduates; Natalia Goncharova and Mikhail Larionov, who established Rayism in 1912; Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, step-sisters who opposed the Nazis; Charles Haslewood Shannon and Charles de Sousy Ricketts, whose partnership concluded in 1929; and Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe, highlighted in Smith's 'Just Kids'.
Key facts
- Evelyn and William De Morgan were devoted to each other and social reform, campaigning with pacifists, spiritualists, and suffragettes.
- Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines met in 1918 and spent over 60 years together, running the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing.
- Maggi Hambling and Victoria Dennistoun have lived together for 35 years on the Suffolk coast; Victoria paints under the name Tory Lawrence.
- Gilbert and George have been partners for over 50 years, describing themselves as 'weird normal' and having no friends except each other.
- Anni and Josef Albers met at the Bauhaus and later taught at Black Mountain College and Yale University.
- Natalia Goncharova and Mikhail Larionov started the Rayist Movement in 1912.
- Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore were step-sisters and lovers who fought Nazis in Jersey.
- Charles Haslewood Shannon was injured in 1929, leading to his partner Charles Ricketts selling their art collection to care for him.
- Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe met in 1967 in New York City; Smith wrote about their relationship in 'Just Kids'.
Entities
Artists
- Evelyn De Morgan
- William De Morgan
- Cedric Morris
- Arthur Lett-Haines
- Lucian Freud
- Maggi Hambling
- Victoria Dennistoun
- Tory Lawrence
- Gilbert Proesch
- George Passmore
- Anni Albers
- Josef Albers
- Natalia Goncharova
- Mikhail Larionov
- Claude Cahun
- Marcel Moore
- André Breton
- Man Ray
- Charles Haslewood Shannon
- Charles de Sousy Ricketts
- Oscar Wilde
- Aubrey Beardsley
- Charles Demuth
- Robert Evans Locher
- William Scott
- Mary Scott
- Patti Smith
- Robert Mapplethorpe
- Jackson Pollock
- Lee Krasner
- Josephine Hopper
- Edward Hopper
- Pablo Picasso
- Dora Maar
- Françoise Gilot
Institutions
- Bauhaus
- Black Mountain College
- Yale University
- East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing
- Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture
- Vogue
Locations
- England
- Paris
- France
- Suffolk
- Germany
- United States
- Mexico
- Europe
- Jersey
- Geneva
- Switzerland
- New York City
- United Kingdom