Around Wall Street or portrait of Pablo in NY 1973

Leonora Carrington made this painting, Around Wall Street, with muted colours and a delicate touch, layering scenes to create a world that's both familiar and otherworldly. The figures and dogs are drawn with such care, like characters from a dream, wandering through a landscape that feels like a stage set. You know, looking at this, I imagine Carrington in her studio, conjuring up this scene bit by bit, maybe starting with the central figure and letting the rest of the world grow around him. She was probably thinking about the contrasts between the rational world of finance and the wilder spaces of the imagination. There’s a tenderness in how the details are rendered, and the surface is so thin and precise. This piece makes me think of other surrealist painters, but with its own unique sense of magic. It reminds me that making paintings is like having a conversation with other artists, across time and space. You put something out there, they respond, and the dialogue keeps going. It's all one big, beautiful, messy conversation about what it means to be human.