Kay Sage

(United States of America, 25/06/1898 - 08/01/1963)

Born in New York to a wealthy family, Sage spent her childhood travelling extensively through Europe with her mother, particularly in Italy, where she developed a deep appreciation for art along with fluency in French and Italian. At the age of 19, Sage enrolled in painting classes at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C., before dropping out when she and her mother returned to Italy the following year. This short stint would be the only formal artistic training she received.

In 1937, Sage moved to Paris and became immersed in the Surrealist movement after visiting the International Surrealist Exhibition in 1938. That same year, she exhibited six paintings in the Salon des Surindépendants show at the Porte de Versailles. Her early works, influenced by the metaphysical style, evolved into compositions featuring the desolate landscapes and enigmatic structures, reflecting themes of isolation and introspection, that she is now known for.

Fleeing Paris in 1939, she used the funds from her art exhibitions to help exiled artists find passage and establish themselves in a new country. The first of these was Yves Tanguy, who she had been in a relationship with for several years and eventually married.

With their precise, geometric forms and subdued colour palettes, Sage's paintings convey a sense of melancholy and timelessness, exemplifying her unique approach to Surrealism. A regular feature in group exhibitions, she received her first major prize in 1945, winning the Watson F. Blair Purchase Prize from the Art Institute of Chicago leading to several successful solo exhibitions at the Julien Levy Gallery the Catherine Viviano Gallery throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

Despite personal challenges and Tanguy's verbal and physical abuse stemming from his jealousy at her success, Sage remained active in the art world, organising exhibitions and supporting her fellow artists in any way she could. Since her death, her contributions to Surrealism and her role as a pioneering Modern artist has been revisited through exhibitions at the LACMoMA, MoMA and SFMoMA among many more.

Image: Kay Sage, Small Portrait (1950). Oil on canvas, 36.8 x 28.9 cm. Vassar College, U.S.A.