Leonora Carrington’s Fil d’Or is returning to auction after more than seventy years in one family. Heritage Auctions has scheduled the 1953 painting for its November 10 sale in New York. Its scraped layers of paint reveal an otherworldly figure, bringing a rarely seen example of Carrington’s grattage technique back to the art market.
Leonora Carrington’s Fil d’Or is returning to the auction market after more than 70 years. Heritage Auctions has announced the 1953 work for November 10 in New York. The painting was bought from Mexico City’s Galeria de Arte Mexicano in the year it was made and has remained with the same family. The announced estimate is between 250,000 and 350,000 dollars, ahead of a sale that has yet to take place.[1], [2]
The French title means gold thread, also the name for fine metal wire used to decorate textiles. Carrington’s birdlike figure is formed from crossing threads, with a golden galaxy in the position of its heart. She used grattage: scraping fresh paint with a blade or spatula to expose underlying textures and shapes. The technique was developed by Max Ernst, her former partner. Heritage associates the title with Carrington’s interest in the multiple meanings of words.[1]
Carrington painted Fil d’Or in Mexico, where she settled after fleeing wartime Europe. Her friendships there included painter Remedios Varo and photographer Kati Horna, with shared interests in alchemy and esoteric symbolism. Carrington also wrote books. Cecilia Alemani took the title of her 2022 Venice Biennale from The Milk of Dreams. The artist died in Mexico City in 2011 at 94, leaving a body of visual and literary work.[1]
