Leonor Fini: surreal thing
She produced the most outré art, liked to cross-dress and had a penchant for living in ménages à trois. And yet, despite once being infamous around the world, Leonor Fini is all but forgotten these days.
By Sarah Kent
Published: 2:37PM GMT 30 Oct 2009
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/6467290/Leonor-Fini-surreal-thing.htmlYou have probably never heard of Leonor Fini, even though she was one of the most photographed people of the 20th century. Queen of the Paris art world, she was constantly in the news - fêted for her paintings, illustrations, theatre designs and, above all, her flamboyant bohemian lifestyle.
She knew how to attract attention and her antics never failed to make the headlines. She would dye her hair blue, orange, red or gold and attend private views and parties dressed as a man, or wearing nothing but white boots and a cape of white feathers. 'I have always loved, and lived, my own theatre,' she once said. Later on she flounced around in creations loaned to her or designed for her by the likes of Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli, while the world's most famous photographers practically queued up to take her picture.
