Rene Magritte

Belgian (1898-1967)

Born in Lessines, Belgium in 1898, Surrealist artist Rene Magritte began taking art lessons at the age of twelve and later studied at the Academie Royale des Beaux Arts in Brussels under Constant Montald. Following his first one-man show at the Galerie la Centaurie in 1927, Magritte left Brussels for Paris where he established close friendships with Max Ernst, Dali, Andre Breton and Paul Eluard. Magritte worked as a designer and commercial artist producing posters, advertisements, magazines and covers for music that would later influence pop, minimalist and conceptual art. In 1948, Magritte’s contract with New York dealer Alexander Iolas resulted in his recognition as an international artist. He exhibited his works at the Museum of Modern Art and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Magritte’s works art are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Musee Magritte Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate Gallery, Museum of Modern Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Guggenheim Museum and Musee Royaux des Beaux Arts, among others.