Remedios Varo was an incredible, free-spirited woman, whose life spanned the Spanish Civil War and the WWII.  She was born on December 18th, 1908 as María de los Remedios Alicia Rodriga Varo y Uranga in the small town of Anglès in Catalonia, Spain. Her father, Rodrigo Varo y Zajalvo was a hydraulic engineer who encouraged her to read widely and introduced her to technical drawing, mathematics, mechanics and scientific concepts, sparking an early fascination with the intersection between art, science, and mysticism. Her mother, Ignacia Uranga Bergareche, was a very religious conservative woman who encouraged Remedios to learn and be creative, but also expected her to comply with the tight norms of the time. Remedio’s mother’s religious devotion contrasted with her daughter’s growing interest in alchemy, the mystical and the supernatural. 

With Rodrigo’s career as an engineer, the family frequently relocated across Spain and spent some time in North Africa. This nomadic lifestyle exposed Remedios to a variety of cultures.

 In 1924, at 15 years old, Remedios Varo enrolled at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid where she graduated in 1930. It was unusual for a woman, especially one so young, to be admitted into the Academy. Remedios was particularly influenced by El Greco and by Francisco Goya. In the academy she received a formal education in classical art techniques, including drawing, painting, and composition which laid the foundation for her later work in surrealism. 

While at school Remedios met painter Gerardo Lizarraga. The son of the future mayor of Pamplona, Gerardo was born into a world of culture and privilege. They married in 1930, perhaps as a way for Remedios to escape her parents’ household. 

Between 1930 and 1936 the couple moved to Paris but struggled to earn a living, so moved back to Barcelona where they both found corporate creative jobs at ad agency.

In Barcelona she met and took fancy to painter Esteban Francés, started the process of leaving her husband and took on a third lover, Benjamin Pètet. Awkwardly (or not, for them,) Varo, Francés and Pètet moved into an apartment together in Barcelona. Poor Gerardo Lizarraga was not invited.

When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936 Remedios moved back Paris with Benjamin Pètet. Paris at the time was where surrealism was finding its home, and where Varo’s life and career were profoundly shaped.

Through Benjamin Pètet she was introduced to the inner circle of the Surrealists, making close connections with André Bretón, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, and many others, including Leonora Carrington who would become one of her closest friends. Influenced by them she started immersing herself into the world of dreams, the fantastic and the surreal.

The next chapter in her life was tumultuous. WWII had started and in 1939 and the Nazis occupied France. Hitler seized and tortured anyone with fascist views, which lead to Remedios being imprisoned for several months. Meanwhile Lizarraga, who had fled to Paris, was also captured but by the French who imprisoned around 350,000 Spanish exiles as ‘undesired foreigners’. Remedios was released from her sentence, but Gerardo remained imprisoned and moved from one concentration camp to another. Remedios, who was still officially married to Gerardo, was heartbroken and sick with worry about her husband. She made it her mission to find him and through a twist of fate saw him on a news bulletin showing prisoners at a camp in Marseille. She worked tirelessly for two years to get him out. He was finally released and bonded by the traumas of war, together they fled to Mexico.

During WWII there Nazis went heavy on persecuting artists and intellectuals. During this time Varian Fry, an American journalist and member of the Emergency Rescue Committee saved around 2,000 individuals from war, notably Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, and André Breton. Thanks to Fry, Remedios and Gerardo arrived in Mexico… via Portugal, Morocco and New York. In Mexico the pair supporting each other not as spouses, but as friends, remaining inspired by the same exciting art and ideas that had brought them together many years before.

Soon after her arrival in Mexico, Remedios Varo formed a close friendship and creative alliance with fellow artists Leonora Carrington and Kati Horna. Together, in the cultural hub of Mexico, they went in deep on their exploration of magic, alchemy and the unconscious, fuelled by modern theories of psychoanalysis and philosophical experiments that mixed science and mysticism.

In her always interesting love-life, and a few lovers later, Remedios found a lasting partnership in Austrian writer and refugee Walter Gruen, whom she married in 1952. Gruen provided Remedios with support both emotionally and financially, which gave her freedom for her artistic career.

After marrying Walter Gruen in 1950, Remedios Varo entered a prolific and inspired phase, creating paintings rich with folkloric and occult symbols and embedded narratives. Gruen, an unwavering supporter, encouraged her to focus solely on her own artistic vision. She embraced this freedom, and her work became increasingly confident and captivating.

Unlike the Paris surrealist movement, which often focused on the male gaze and the objectification of women, Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo prioritized themes of female autonomy, transformation, and self-discovery. Their art took a deeply introspective approach, blending the mystical and the magical with narratives of empowerment and inner growth. This distinctive focus not only enriched their individual creative expressions but also contributed a fresh, feminist perspective to surrealism, leaving a lasting and transformative impact on the movement.

Many of Varo’s pieces feature female protagonists engaged in acts of creation or care, such as feeding a crescent moon in Celestial Pablum (1958), composing music with ethereal figures in Harmony (1956), or crafting an angelic being in The Weaver of Veronica (1956). Her intricate, imaginative surrealist style often champions women, presenting complex narratives that invite plenty of interpretation.

In 1963, during a dinner party at her home, Remedios Varo mentioned feeling tired and excused herself to go and rest. She went to bed and passed away peacefully in her sleep aged just 55. Despite her untimely death, her legacy has grown profoundly over the decades. Today, she is celebrated as one of the most significant figures in Latin American surrealism – a visionary artist who blended imagination, technical mastery, and a deep curiosity about the unknown. Her work continues to inspire and captivate audiences worldwide.

The works of Remedios Varo have seen notable success in art auctions, reflecting her growing recognition as a key figure in surrealism. Her paintings often command high prices:

“Hacia la Torre” was sold for $4.3million at auction in 2014.

“Visita al cirujano plástico” had a mid-estimate of $2.6 million in 2022.

“Esquiador (Viajero)” was sold for $4.17 million in 2024.

Other notable works like “Les Feuilles Mortes” and “Astro Errante” have also reached impressive valuations in recent years. Her unique style and deeply personal themes resonate with collectors, driving the demand and value of her art at international auction.