Leonora Carrington and San Luis Potosí: Where Surrealism Found a Home in Mexico

In the heart of Mexico, where colonial architecture meets avant-garde art, lies a remarkable tribute to one of the 20th century's most enigmatic artists. The Museo Leonora Carrington in San Luis Potosí stands as the world's first museum dedicated entirely to the British-Mexican surrealist painter—a testament to the profound connection between this visionary artist and the magical landscapes of central Mexico.

Leonora Carrington (1917-2011) was no ordinary artist. A rebellious English debutante who fled her aristocratic upbringing to join the Surrealist movement in Paris, she eventually found her true home in Mexico, where she lived for nearly seven decades. Her connection to San Luis Potosí—through mystical mining towns, surrealist gardens, and now a world-class museum—creates an unmissable cultural experience for art lovers visiting this region.

Mary Leonora Carrington was born on April 6, 1917, in Clayton-le-Woods, Lancashire, England, into a wealthy textile manufacturing family. From an early age, she rebelled against the expectations of her aristocratic upbringing—she was expelled from at least two convent schools before being sent to boarding school in Florence.

Finding Home in Mexico

Through a marriage of convenience to Mexican diplomat Renato Leduc, Carrington secured passage to New York in 1941. By 1942, she had divorced Leduc and settled permanently in Mexico City, where she would live for the rest of her life—nearly seven decades.

"I didn't have time to be anyone's muse... I was too busy rebelling against my family and learning to be an artist."

Why San Luis Potosí? Although Carrington lived primarily in Mexico City, she developed a special connection with San Luis Potosí through her visits to its magical towns—Real de Catorce and Cerro de San Pedro—places that became sources of inspiration for several of her works.

Real de Catorce: The Ghost Town That Inspired

Real de Catorce, the former silver mining town perched in the mountains of San Luis Potosí, held particular fascination for Carrington. This "ghost town," accessible only through a 2.3-kilometer tunnel carved through the mountain, offered the perfect surreal landscape—abandoned haciendas, desert plateaus, and an otherworldly atmosphere that aligned perfectly with her artistic vision.

On March 22, 2018, the Museo Leonora Carrington opened its doors in San Luis Potosí, becoming the first museum in the world dedicated entirely to this groundbreaking artist. The museum was made possible through generous donations from Pablo Weisz Carrington, the artist's son, who fulfilled a promise he made to his mother to create a lasting tribute to her work.

The Collection

The Museo Leonora Carrington is housed within one of Mexico's most remarkable architectural conversions: the Centro de las Artes de San Luis Potosí Centenario. This stunning cultural complex was once a functioning penitentiary—a transformation that seems fitting for an artist who spent her life exploring themes of confinement, liberation, and metamorphosis.

The Panopticon Prison

The building was designed by architect Carlos Suárez Fiallo in the late 19th century following the Panopticon model developed by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham. This revolutionary (and controversial) prison design placed a central observation tower at the heart of the structure, with eight corridors radiating outward like spokes of a wheel.

No exploration of Carrington's connection to San Luis Potosí would be complete without mentioning Las Pozas—the surrealist sculpture garden created by her friend and patron Edward James in Xilitla, in the Huasteca region of San Luis Potosí.

Carrington painted a mural on the wall of James's home in Xilitla (now the hotel El Castillo)—a personal touch that connects her directly to this magical place.

Las Pozas

Declared an Artistic Monument of the Nation in 2012, Las Pozas is considered the most important surrealist space in Mexico.

• 36 surrealist concrete structures
• 20+ acres of tropical jungle
• Natural pools and waterfalls
• UNESCO Tentative List site

The Second Museo Leonora Carrington

On October 19, 2018, a second venue of the Museo Leonora Carrington opened in Xilitla itself, featuring sculptures, lithographs, and other works by the artist. This creates a natural artistic pilgrimage for visitors: from the Centro de las Artes in San Luis Potosí's capital to the surrealist wonderland of Las Pozas, with Carrington's work as the connecting thread.

Leonora Carrington's connection to San Luis Potosí reveals how this region's magical landscapes—from ghost mining towns to jungle gardens—have long attracted visionary artists seeking inspiration beyond the ordinary.

The transformation of a 19th-century panopticon prison into a center for the arts, now home to Carrington's legacy, is perhaps the most fitting tribute possible to an artist who spent her life exploring themes of confinement, liberation, and transformation. In San Luis Potosí, her work has found not just a home, but a perfect metaphor.