Max Ernst (1891–1976)

Max Ernst, born in Brühl, Germany, was an avant-garde artist who helped found both the Dadaist and Surrealist movements and organize exhibitions of the works. In 1938, he separated from his wife and went to live and create art in Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche in southern France with fellow artist Leonora Carrington. He was interned by the French authorities at Camp des Milles near Marseille as an "enemy alien" after the start of World War II in 1939, but released a few weeks later thanks to the intercession of friends, including Paul Éluard, and American journalist Varian Fry. When Nazi Germany occupied France, he was arrested by the Gestapo, but managed to escape and flee to the USA with his patron and lover Peggy Guggenheim, whom he later married. Along with other European refugee artists and friends, Ernst helped introduce new art forms to Americans. In 1948, he wrote the treatise Beyond Painting, which helped bring him publicity and financial success. In 1953, Ernst returned to live in France with his second wife, Dorothea Tanning. The Galeries Nationales du Grand-Palais in Paris published a complete catalogue of his works.