Oppenheim, Meret

Oppenheim, Meret (b Berlin, 6 Oct. 1913; d Basle, 15 Nov. 1985).
German-Swiss painter, sculptor, and maker of objects. In 1932 she moved to Paris, where she was introduced to the Surrealist group by Giacometti and became for a while the model and disciple of Man Ray. He described her as ‘one of the most uninhibited women I have ever known’ and she became celebrated among the Surrealists as the ‘fairy woman’ whom all men desire. She had a long career, but she is remembered mainly for one early work: Object (1936, MoMA, New York), a fur-lined tea cup and saucer. This became famous as a symbol of artistic anarchy after being shown at major Surrealist exhibitions in London and New York in 1936. See also object.