The artists

Eileen Agar (1899–1991)
British painter and photographer; key Surrealist figure associated with the London and Paris movements; known for experimental, abstract compositions that combine found objects, collage, and biomorphic forms with a playful, imaginative sensibility.

Sofonisba Anguissola (c.1532–1625)
Italian Renaissance painter; renowned for refined and psychologically sensitive portraiture; served at the Spanish court and produced influential court paintings that helped shape the development of portraiture across Europe.

Vanessa Bell (1879–1961)
British painter; central member of the Bloomsbury Group and a key figure in British modernism; noted for boldly coloured modernist portraits, interiors, and decorative work that bridged fine and applied arts.

Leonora Carrington (1917–2011)
British-born Surrealist artist and writer; active from the 1930s and closely linked to Max Ernst and the European avant-garde; settled in Mexico City, where she developed myth-infused, imaginative work drawing on folklore, alchemy, and feminist themes.

Elizabeth Catlett (1915–2012)
American and Mexican sculptor and printmaker; associated with the Harlem Renaissance and Mexican Taller de Gráfica Popular; known for powerful, socially engaged works addressing race, gender, and justice through bold, figurative forms.

Lavinia Fontana (1552–1614)

Italian late Renaissance painter; one of the first women in Europe to achieve an independent professional career as an artist. Active in Bologna and later Rome, she was celebrated for portraits, religious altarpieces, and mythological paintings distinguished by refined naturalism, rich colour, and meticulous detail. Her successful public practice challenged contemporary