Oppenheim, Meret (1913–1985)

German-Swiss painter and designer. She was renowned as the creator of the celebrated surrealist-Dada object Breakfast in Fur 1936 (Museum of Modern Art, New York): a teacup, saucer, and spoon covered in animal fur.

Oppenheim studied art in Paris in the 1920s and in the early 1930s became the model and muse of the surrealist painter and photographer Man Ray. Her own paintings are replete with mythological and fairytale figures. Among the many surreal objects she created is a wooden table with bird's legs and feet in gold-plated bronze (private collection, Paris). She also designed jewellery for the couturier Elsa Schiaparelli.