Eroticism and Amazonian mythologies in the sculpture of an overlooked Brazilian Surrealist

A leading figure in New York’s Surrealist circles and in Latin American modernism, the Brazilian artist Maria Martins (1894–1973) was known for her bronze sculptures of hybrid and mythological figures. Through her marriage to a Brazilian diplomat, Martins built a large part of her career outside Brazil, having lived in New York in the 1940s, when she was part of the city’s expat Surrealist community. This survey examines Martins’ central and active role in Surrealism (in a counterpart to the narratives about her romantic involvement with Duchamp), her interpretation of Amazonian mythologies and iconography from the outset of her career, and her female perspective on themes of desire and eroticism.