Meraud Guevara | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Meraud Michelle Wemyss Guinness (1904-06-24)24 June 1904 |
| Died | 6 May 1993(1993-05-06) (aged 88) |
| Known for | Painting,Writing |
| Spouse | |
Meraud Michelle Wemyss Guinness also known asMeraud Guevara (24 June 1904 – 6 May 1993) was a Britishpainter, writer and poet. She lived most of her life in France, having settled there with her husband,Álvaro Guevara, from whom she was later separated.
She was born Meraud Michelle Wemyss Guinness in London on 24 June 1904 a member of the famous and wealthyGuinness family as daughter ofBenjamin Seymour Guinness, a rich Anglo-Irish businessman and financier (later also a Prince in theItalian nobility). She was the older sister ofLoel Guinness.
Aged 19 she began studies atSlade School of Art in London and studied underHenry Tonks.[1] From 1926 to 1927 she studied in New York under the sculptorAlexander Archipenko. During her time in New York she also wrote for Vogue magazine. She next moved to Paris, France and studied at both theAcadémie Julian andAcadémie de la Grande Chaumière underFrancis Picabia andPierre Tal-Coat.
Although earlier connected romantically toChristopher Wood, also sitting for him, she ultimately marriedChilean painterÁlvaro Guevara in 1929 and spent most of her life in the south of France, inAix-en-Provence near him, but not with him, their marriage crumbling after the birth of their daughterAlladine Guevara in 1931.
In 1943, Guinness' work was included inPeggy Guggenheim's showExhibition by 31 Women at theArt of This Century gallery in New York.[2]
The summer of 1950 at a 'Coming Out' party at 12 Rue de Poitiers, Paris - the flat of theGuinness family - saw Guiness, her Aunt Tanis andLady Diana Cooper act as hostesses. The party was organised by her brother Loel whose wife,Lady Isabel Manners, was the niece of Lady Diana Cooper.Cecil Beaton assisted by Guiness, undertook decorations at the home for the occasion.[3]
She died in Paris on 6 May 1993.[4]
