The Tarot of Leonora Carrington
The British-born artist Leonora Carrington (1917–2011) is one of the more fascinating figures to emerge from the Surrealist movement. As both a writer and painter, she was championed early by André Breton and joined the exiled Surrealists in New York, before settling in Mexico in 1943. The magical themes of Carrington’s otherworldly paintings are well-known, but the recent discovery of a suite of tarot designs she created for the Major Arcana was a revelation for scholars and fans of Carrington alike. Drawing inspiration from the Tarot of Marseille and the popular Waite-Smith deck, Carrington brings her own approach and style to this timeless subject, creating a series of iconic images. Executed on thick board, brightly coloured and squarish in format, Carrington’s Major Arcana shines with gold and silver leaf, exploring tarot themes through what Gabriel Weisz Carrington describes as a ‘surrealist object’. This tantalising discovery, made by the curator Tere Arcq and scholar Susan Aberth, has placed greater emphasis upon the role of the tarot in Carrington’s creative life and has led to fresh research in this area.
The Tarot of Leonora Carrington is the first book dedicated to this important aspect of the artist’s work. It includes a full-size facsimile of her newly discovered Major Arcana; an introduction from her son, Gabriel Weisz Carrington; and a richly illustrated essay from Tere Arcq and Susan Aberth that offers new insights — exploring the significance of tarot imagery within Carrington’s wider work, her many inspirations and mysterious occult sources.
Standard edition
30cm x 24cm
120 pages
59 colour images | 1 black and white
Original price £40
Ibis edition
Limited to 276 copies in white silk cloth
Signed by Susan Aberth and Tere Arcq
Custom box with inset silver-edged deck of Major Arcana Cards
Introductory booklet by Rachel Pollack
Original price £150
Star Edition
Limited to 87 copies for sale in crushed white full morocco
Signed by Gabriel Weisz Carrington
Top edge gilt
Inset silver-edged deck of Major Arcana Cards
Introductory booklet by Rachel Pollack
Custom silk-covered box
Original price £295
