I’d only recently found Leonora Carrington through the book, The Tarot of Leonora Carrington, and was immediately gripped by her work.

This book, Surreal Spaces, is a wonderfully written and researched monograph on her life and works. Looking into what took her down certain roads and exploring her art during each of these periods.

What sets it apart from other art monographs though is the personal nature of the relationship between the author and artist, Joanna Moorhead also going on a journey of discovery of this woman who is related to her but not immediately know and has to be revisited both as family and artist.

I took an Art History degree and was fascinated by Surrealism but the only names we were ever told were Breton and Dali, and the feud between these to men, but it comes as no real surprise to find that women who were seen as great artists at the time were written out of HIStory once more.

Another woman who’s skills and artistry is now only being rediscovered after her death tells why we need more book like this one exploring the strength, passion, and imagination of Leonora Carrington.

What I really liked most about this book is that the familial link gave what could have been an impersonal, yet important, exploration of an artists life energy and warmth.

This is a great read, well set out and well researched with fascinating historical context of a brilliant artist, and I really need to see her work in real life rather than reproduction soon.

If you have any interest in women’s art, art history, or surrealism this is a must have book.