Marie Laurencin

(French, 1883–1956)

Marie Laurencin was a French artist known for her delicate depictions of young women in idyllic landscapes. Using muted pinks, dove grays, and mint greens the artist created dreamlike visions of reality. “Why should I paint dead fish, onions and beer glasses? Girls are so much prettier,” she once said. Born on October 31, 1883 in Paris, France, Laurencin like Pierre-Auguste Renoir studied porcelain painting in her youth. She attended drawing classes at the Académie Humbert before having her first solo exhibition in 1907. After falling into the circles of Pablo Picasso she became the lover of the famed poet Guillaume Apollinaire. Her close contact with the Cubists and Section d’Or artists such as Robert Delaunay and Jean Metzinger led her to develop her hallmark style of simplified volumes and arabesque lines. During her life she was a sought after portrait painter of notable Parisian celebrities including Coco Chanel. Laurencin died on June 8, 1956 in Paris, France. In 1983, commemorating the 100th anniversary of her birthday, the Musée Marie Laurencin opened in Nagano, Japan. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.