Surrealist Women Artists and Mental Illness

Surrealist orthodoxy idealized feminine madness for its supposedly unfettered access to the unconscious. At the same time, an unusually large number of surrealist women artists experienced mental illness. Indeed, Leonora Carrington, Frida Kahlo, Meret Oppenheim, Sonja Sekula, and Unica Zürn, among others, all suffered from maladies ranging from depression to schizophrenia—and all found their way into the surrealist movement.

How did women’s experience and their work align with the romanticized vision? Carrington was hospitalized due to psychosis, Kahlo likely had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Oppenheim struggled with depression, and Sekula’s and Zürn’s schizophrenia affected their art and lives. Did these women—and others—see themselves reflected in the surrealist ideal of feminine madness? Did they find the masculine, surrealist dream of feminized, mad genius prohibitive—or productive? This panel explores how the work of women artists pushed surrealism far beyond the mere idealization of feminine madness—and how actual feminine mental illness may have expanded and deepened surrealist art. Papers might consider the surrealist fascination with feminine mental illness that frames this discussion. Others might explore the lives and work of surrealist women artists or themes that arise in multiple artists’ oeuvres. Papers might also reflect on women artists who were considered mad but were not; how did that appellation affect their careers? Still others might address the ethics of addressing mental illness in dead artists.