Sœur de la Gazelle

Although of mixed Chinese and African ancestry Wifredo Lam was born in Cuba in 1902 and was exposed to various aspects of African sorcery and spiritual practices which eventually influenced his artistic output. In 1938 he settled in Paris where he immersed himself in Surrealism and became acquainted with several important artistic figures, including Picasso, Max Ernst, André Masson and Yves Tanguy.

After the Cuban Revolution in 1959 he produced art in support of Fidel Castro’s government, perhaps most notably a fresco entitled Third World for the presidential palace in Havana. In 1964 he was awarded the Guggenheim International Award and during the late 1960s Lam held several retrospectives in Europe and America. He died in 1982.