Painter, printmaker, and illustrator, Marie Laurencin was one of the leading figures of the Parisian avant-garde. She developed a poetic and instantly recognisable artistic language, distinguished by its delicate palette and ethereal depictions of women. Trained at the Académie Humbert, she began exhibiting at the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Indépendants in 1905, before establishing herself as one of the most distinctive artists of her generation.
A founding member of the Société des Femmes Artistes Modernes (FAM), Laurencin also played a significant role in promoting the work of women artists during the 1930s. A close friend of Nicole and André Groult, she became an integral part of their decorative world. Several of her paintings adorned their interiors, and in the 1920s André Groult commissioned her to create the Les Singes and Le Poète wallpaper designs, the latter inspired by Guillaume Apollinaire. Widely celebrated, particularly in Japan where a museum is dedicated to her work, her art is now held in major international collections.