It is impossible to capture in just a few lines this evanescent artist, half angel, half shellfish, as Salvador Dalí defined her: painter, ceramicist, set designer, muralist, she was adored by the poets of her generation, who captured the prodigious difference before anyone else, the seal of genius that he transmitted in everything he did.
She was born in Viveiro in 1902, and had flown to Madrid in the twenties, when the young people of the generation of '27 began to become what they were: among those writers, artists, and filmmakers, she went to the Lyceum Women's Club, scandalized the citizens by taking off his hat and claiming a space that he soon obtained: in 1928 he exhibited for the first time, after years of illustrating for the Revista de Occidente or La Gaceta Literaria.
A trip to Paris in 1932 completely transformed his style: he began with surrealism, came into contact with creators such as Bretón, Picasso or Magritte, and this aesthetic would mark his collaborations with Miguel Hernández and Alberti. He was at an excellent moment in his career, with various exhibitions and a slow but clear evolution towards constructivism, when the Civil War broke out.
She would spend the next twenty-five years in exile in America, mainly in Buenos Aires, but also in Uruguay and finally in New York. Her triumphs continued: she exhibited internationally, backed by a growing prestige. Teaching was added to her work as an illustrator and painter, which she had always practiced: if she had previously been involved with the Pedagogical Missions in America, she continued that work with classes and conferences.
When she returned to Spain in 1962, she was already considered one of the great painters of the 20th century. She died in Madrid, after the age of 90, in 1995. Her success and recognition story is the exception to most cases: but it is not in vain that we talk about an angel capable of surviving in the depths of the sea.
