Leonora Carrington and San Luis Potosí: Where Surrealism Found a Home in Mexico
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Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
In the heart of Mexico, where colonial architecture meets avant-garde art, stands an extraordinary tribute to one of the most enigmatic artists of the 20th century. The Leonora Carrington Museum in San Luis Potosí is 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.
1. Who Was Leonora Carrington?
From English aristocrat to Mexican surrealist legend
Mary Leonora Carrington was born on April 6, 1917, in Clayton-le-Woods, Lancashire, England, to a wealthy textile industry family. From a very early age, she rebelled against the expectations of her aristocratic upbringing—she was expelled from at least two convent schools before being sent to a boarding school in Florence.
Early Influences
Carrington's Irish mother and her nanny introduced her to Celtic mythology and Irish folklore—imagery that would later appear throughout her art.
— Source: Tate Gallery Biography
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 permanently settled in Mexico City, where she would live for the rest of her life—nearly seven decades.
94
years of an extraordinary life
Leonora Carrington lived from 1917 to 2011, creating art until the end
"I didn't have time to be anyone's muse... I was too busy rebelling against my family and learning to be an artist."
2. Her Connection to San Luis Potosí
Mystical landscapes that inspired surrealist masterpieces
Why San Luis Potosí? While Carrington lived primarily in Mexico City, she developed a special connection to San Luis Potosí through her visits to its magical towns—Real de Catorce and Cerro de San Pedro.
Real de Catorce: The Ghost Town That Inspired
Real de Catorce, the former silver mining town perched in the mountains of San Luis Potosí, particularly captivated Carrington. This "ghost town," accessible only through a 2.3-kilometer tunnel carved through the mountain, offered the perfect surrealist landscape.
Real de Catorce
- Former mining city at 2,750m altitude
- Accessible through historic tunnel
- Sacred Huichol pilgrimage site
- Surreal desert landscapes
Cerro de San Pedro
- Site of original gold discovery in 1592
- Historic colonial architecture
- Abandoned mining infrastructure
- 20km from SLP capital
3. The Leonora Carrington Museum
The world's first museum dedicated to the Surrealist master
On March 22, 2018, the Leonora Carrington Museum opened its doors in San Luis Potosí, becoming the world's first museum dedicated entirely to this revolutionary artist. The museum was made possible through generous donations from Pablo Weisz Carrington, the artist's son.
The Collection
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