Eugenio Fernández Granell (1912-2001) was born in A Coruña, Spain. He spent much of his childhood and youth in Santiago de Compostela before moving to Madrid, where he studied violin at the Graduate School of Music. Granell was politically active, joining the POUM (Unified Workers’ Marxist Party) and engaging with the intellectual circles of Spain’s cultural scene. During his early years, he collaborated with magazines and befriended several notable artists and writers, including Maruja Mallo and Joaquín Torres-García. His life took a dramatic turn during the Spanish Civil War, after which he went into exile, living in various countries, including the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Puerto Rico, before ultimately settling in New York and later Madrid.
His artistic career began after his exile in 1941, when he started painting in the Dominican Republic. He was deeply influenced by the surrealist movement and is often quoted as saying he was a surrealist from birth. His works were heavily inspired by his early childhood fantasies and architectural drawings. Granell was introduced to André Breton in the Dominican Republic, which solidified his connection to surrealism. He exhibited his work in various solo and group shows across the globe, from Puerto Rico to Paris, New York, and Venice. Granell’s involvement with the international surrealist community was prominent, with him participating in major exhibitions such as the 1947 “Le Surréalisme en 1947” in Paris and the Spanish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1960.
Throughout his career, Granell’s works were displayed in numerous prominent institutions and exhibitions. In addition to exhibiting worldwide, his paintings are part of collections in major museums such as the Reina Sofia Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts in La Coruña. Granell’s legacy is celebrated by the Eugenio Granell Foundation, established in Santiago de Compostela in 1995, which holds a significant collection of his work as well as works from other surrealist artists. The foundation is dedicated to promoting surrealism and supporting contemporary art. Granell’s works have also been featured in major exhibitions, such as “Surrealism Beyond Borders” in 2022, which toured at institutions like the Tate, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museo Reina Sofía. His contributions to surrealism were recognized with multiple awards, including Spain’s Golden Medal of Fine Arts in 1995.
