Mina Loy
(1882-1966)
Artist. Writer. Entrepreneur.
She consorted with the major 20th-century avant-garde movements—
Futurism, Dada, and Surrealism—
yet was wedded to none.
She moved among the metropolitan centers of modernism—
London, Paris, Florence, New York, and Berlin—
yet rarely felt at home.
She wrote poems, plays, and experimental prose;
created drawings, paintings, sculptures, and assemblages;
designed lampshades, toys, Christmas lights, cleaning tools, and corselets.
Born in London in 1882, Mina Gertrude Lowy was the child of an English, Protestant mother and a Hungarian, Jewish father. She was raised with two sisters in a Victorian household that aspired to middle-class respectability.
Mina, the first-born, was the problem child. Imaginative and precocious, she was prone to inventing colorful stories and drawings—and disinclined to proper feminine decorum. She was sent to art school: first in London, then Munich, then Paris.
In Paris, Loy met fellow artist Stephen Haweis, who was attracted to her beauty and intelligence. Though her feelings toward him were deeply ambivalent, she married him in 1903 out of necessity. Their daughter, Oda Janet, was born 1904 (five months after the wedding). That same year, Loy exhibited six watercolors at the prestigious Salon d’Automne under the self-styled name, Mina Loy.
Just as her career began to take off, her personal life crashed. Oda died of meningitis in 1905, Loy’s marriage felt apart, and she was plagued by grief, self-doubt, and neurasthenia, which today would be diagnosed as depression. When Loy became pregnant by the doctor who treated her, Stephen agreed to claim paternity if she moved with him to Florence. Divorce was financially impossible, socially unacceptable, and legally very difficult, so Loy complied, and the couple moved to Florence in 1907.
While in Italy, Loy had two more children but grew more estranged from Haweis. Meanwhile, she developed sustaining friendships with Mabel Dodge Luhan, Gertrude Stein, Carl Van Vechten, and her ward and artistic protégé, Frances Simpson Stevens, who introduced her to the Italian Futurists in 1913.
In 1914, Loy became involved in love affairs with F. T. Marinetti and Giovanni Papini. She also embarked on a literary career, publishing her first poems, manifestos, and plays in various American and European little magazines.
When her affairs with the Italian Futurists ended, Loy served briefly as a nurse for the Italian Red Cross during World War I. In 1917, she left her children with their Italian nursemaid and sailed to New York, determined to reinvent herself as an artist.
In New York, Loy found artistic compatriots in the avant-garde circle that gravitated around Walter and Louise Arensburg. She met Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Beatrice Webb, and the love of her live, Arthur Cravan—a boxer, Dada poet, and nephew of Oscar Wilde.
Loy secured a divorce from Haweis in 1917. The next year, she and Cravan sailed to Mexico so that he could escape the draft, and they got married there. Loy became pregnant, and they set off for Argentina on separate boats. Cravan never made it: his sailboat disappeared off the coast of Mexico, and he was never heard from again.
Heartbroken, Loy returned to London and delivered her fourth child, Jemima Fabienne Cravan Lloyd. She then resumed her transatlantic migrations, moving to Geneva, to Florence, to New York, back to Florence, and then to Paris, where she resided from 1921-1936, running a lamp shop funded by Peggy Guggenheim and then acting as an purchasing agent for her son-in-law Julian Levy’s art gallery in New York, serving as a key figure in Surrealism’s New York reception. In 1933, she befriended the Surrealist painter Richard Oelze and drew upon their relationship for her novel, Insel.
Loy returned to New York in 1936, where she interacted with Joseph Cornell, Kenneth Rexroth, Djuna Barnes, and Charles Henri Ford. She became an American citizen in 1946 and moved to the Bowery in 1949, living in a communal household and creating artistic assemblages from local refuse and found objects.
In 1953, she moved to Aspen, Colorado, to be near her daughters. She died there in 1966.
In her lifetime, Loy published two books, Lunar Baedecker [sic] in 1923 and Lunar Baedeker and Time Tables in 1958, as well as dozens of poems, plays, and essays in little magazines. In addition to exhibiting art at the Salon d’Automne and Salon des Beaux-Arts in Paris and Carfax Gallery in London early in her career, she showed Surrealist paintings in Julian Levy’s New York gallery in 1933 and “Constructions” at an exhibit curated by Marcel Duchamp at the Bodley Gallery in New York in 1959.
Today, many of Mina Loy’s creations remain unpublished, undated, lost, or in private collections, making her career as difficult to chart as it is fascinating to follow.
Sources
- Carolyn Burke. Becoming Modern: The Life of Mina Loy. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1996.
- “Mina Loy Chronology.” The Salt Companion to Mina Loy. Eds. Rachel Potter and Suzanne Hobson. London: Salt Publishing, 2010. 12-15.
- “Time-Table.” Mina Loy. The Last Lunar Baedeker. Ed. Roger L. Conover. Highlands, NC: The Jargon Society, 1982. lxiii-lxxix.
Loy’s Artistic and Social Network
Lepers of the moon
all magically diseased
we come among you
innocent
of our luminous sores– Mina Loy, “Apology of Genius”
These short biographies of figures in Loy’s artistic and social network in Florence, New York, and Paris were written by undergraduate and graduate students at Davidson College, Duquesne University, and the University of Georgia. Students participated in cross-institutional peer critique, and final editing was completed by graduate students at Duquesne University, who worked closely with the faculty editors of this site. Visit our project blog to read more about the Biography project or see the Bio Project Assignment.
Duquesne University
-
Jillian Bennion
Bio: Alfred Stieglitz -
Nichole Brazelton
Bio: Rachel Blau Du Plessis -
Brett Dipuma
Bio: Dorothy Day -
Courtney Druzak
Bio: Janet Flanner -
Kenneth Estrada
Bio: F. T. Marinetti, Thomas Merton -
Rochel L. Gasson
Bios: Walter Conrad Arensberg, Kathleen Fraser, Marianne Moore, Ezra Pound -
John Hadlock
Bio: Denise Levertov -
Caitlyn Hunter
Bio: Glenway Wescott -
Jesse Jack
Bio: Neith Boyce -
Taylor Maldonado
Bios: Ford Madox Ford, Richard Oelze -
Jill Moliterno
Bio: Hermine David -
Hannah Muczynski
Bios: T.S. Eliot, Stephen Haweis -
Josie Rush
Bio: Thelma Wood -
Anna Samuels
Bio: Elsa Schiaparelli -
Molly Sharbaugh
Bio: Joseph Stella
University of Georgia
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Amy Bonnaffons
Bio: Joseph Cornell -
Tyler Cain
Bio: Tristan Tzara -
Nathan Dixon
Bio: Mary Baker Eddy -
Cole Donovan
Bio: Eugene Jolas -
Ragan Foley
Bio: Peggy Guggenheim -
Corinn Gurak
Bio: Djuna Barnes -
Genevieve Guzman
Bios: Berenice Abbott, Arthus Cravan, Nancy Cunard, Marcel Duchamp, Isadora Duncan, Robert McAlmon -
Marianna Hagler
Bio: Man Ray -
Tim Heines
Bio: Max Ernst -
Kaitlin Hocker
Bio: Luis Bunuel -
Matthew Kliewer
Bio: Charles Henri Ford -
Kara Krewer
Bio: Giovanni Papini -
Sherry Luo
Bio: Gertrude Stein -
Mike McClelland
Bio: Jean Cocteau -
Emmy Murphy
Bio: Fernand Leger -
Kensie Poor
Bio: Williams Carlos Williams -
Samantha Regal
Bio: Lee Miller -
Sidonia Serafini
Bio: Jane Heap -
Sarah Shermyen
Bio: Beatrice Wood -
Michelle Sherwin
Bio: Katherine Dreier -
Hannah Sikes
Bio: Natalie Barney -
Harley Spears
Bio: Jules Pascin -
Naomi Stamps
Bio: Julien Levy -
Katie Tucker
Bio: Constantin Brancusi -
Marquis Waiters
Bio: Andre Breton -
Other student contributors
Bios: Sylvia Beach, Basil Bunting, James Joyce
Davidson College
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Meredith Foulke
Bio: Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loinghoven -
Sarah Gompper
Bio: Frances Simpson Stevens -
Leigha Nortier
Bio: Francis Picabia -
Grady Pearson
Bio: Carl Van Vechten -
Erin Piemont
Bio: Mabel Dodge Luhan -
Danielle Rifkin
Bio: Alfred Kreymborg -
Bean Rodriguez
Bio: Gabrielle Buffet-Picabia -
Maura Tangum
Bio: Clara Tice
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Berenice Abbott
![black and white passport photograph of "Walter Arensberg"](/wp-content/uploads/image1-349x349.jpg)
Walter Conrad Arensberg
![Djuna Barnes](/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Djunabarnes.jpg)
Djuna Barnes
![black and white portrait photograph of Natalie Barney](/wp-content/uploads/nataliebarney-349x349.jpg)
Natalie Barney
![At her bookshop, Shakespeare and Company](/wp-content/uploads/gettyimages-52128649-1024x1024-349x349.jpg)
Sylvia Beach
![black and white photograph of Neith Boyce](/wp-content/uploads/1013660-349x349.jpg)
Neith Boyce
![Constantin Brancusi](/wp-content/uploads/s-l300-349x349.jpg)
Constantin Brancusi
![André Breton](/wp-content/uploads/André_Breton-1-349x349.jpg)
André Breton
![French art critic and writer of the dada movement](/wp-content/uploads/Gabriele_Buffet_Picabia-616x380-349x349.jpg)
Gabrielle Buffet-Picabia
![black and white photograph of Basil Bunting](/wp-content/uploads/basilbunting-349x349.jpg)
Basil Bunting
![black and white photograph of Luis Bunuel (Portoles)](/wp-content/uploads/Luis-Buñuel-Portolés-349x349.jpg)
Luis Buñuel (Portolés)
![Black and white portrait photograph of Jean Cocteau c.1923](/wp-content/uploads/330px-Jean_Cocteau_b_Meurisse_1923-349x349.jpg)
Jean Cocteau
![Cornell in 1971](/wp-content/uploads/Joseph_Cornell_1971-349x349.jpg)
Joseph Cornell
![Arthur Cravan, Paris, circa 1910.](/wp-content/uploads/arthurcravan-349x349.jpg)
Arthur Cravan
![The iconic portrait of Nancy Cunard, 1925, photographed by Man Ray © Man Ray Trust](/wp-content/uploads/nancy-cunard-349x349.jpg)
Nancy Cunard
![black and white photo of Hermine David](/wp-content/uploads/Photo_of_Hermine_David-349x349.jpg)
Hermine David
![Dorothy Day c.1916](/wp-content/uploads/330px-Dorothy_Day_1916_cropped-349x349.jpg)
Dorothy Day
![Mabel Dodge Luhan wearing turban in yoga pose, circa 1915](/wp-content/uploads/573e3262e0243.image_-349x349.jpg)
Mabel Dodge
![Katherine S. Dreier standing on stool with palette in from of mural at Saint Paul's School in New York](/wp-content/uploads/people-katherine-s-dreier-saint-pauls-school-mural-new-york-1905-349x349.jpg)
Katherine Sophie Dreier
![Marcel Duchamp (With Pipe) - Photo by John D. Schiff](/wp-content/uploads/marcel-duchamp.jpgPortrait-349x349.jpg)
Marcel Duchamp
![Black and white portrait photograph of Isadora Duncan](/wp-content/uploads/Isadora_Duncan_portrait_cropped-349x349.jpg)
Isadora Duncan
![black and white portrait photograph of Mary Baker Eddy](/wp-content/uploads/Mary_Baker_Eddy-349x349.jpg)
Mary Baker Eddy
![Photo Credit: Alfred Eisenstaedt / LIFE](/wp-content/uploads/ts-eliot-349x349.jpg)
T.S. Eliot
![black and white photograph of Janet Flanner](/wp-content/uploads/flanner2-349x349.jpg)
Janet Flanner
![Charles Henry Ford: writer, artist, and editor](/wp-content/uploads/044-charles-henry-ford-theredlist-349x349.jpg)
Charles Henri Ford
![black and white photograph of Kathleen Fraser](/wp-content/uploads/fraser-hi-349x349.jpg)
Kathleen Fraser
![Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven in costume](/wp-content/uploads/Baroness-Elsa-349x349.jpeg)
Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven
![black and white photograph of Peggy Guggenheim](/wp-content/uploads/peggyguggenheim-349x349.jpg)
Peggy Guggenheim
![black and white photograph of Stephen Haweis c.1923](/wp-content/uploads/MBL_ALBUM-1-PAGE-38_478.web_-349x349.jpg)
Stephen Haweis
![black and white photograph of Eugene Jolas](/wp-content/uploads/eugenejolas-349x349.jpg)
Eugene Jolas
![James Joyce](/wp-content/uploads/joycemodword-349x349.jpg)
James Joyce
![Alfred Kremyborg](/wp-content/uploads/cn3569_kreymborg1-349x349.jpg)
Alfred Kreymborg
![Fernand Léger, c. 1916](/wp-content/uploads/Fernand_Léger_c._1916-349x349.jpg)
Fernand Léger
![Denise Levertov](/wp-content/uploads/D-Levertov-349x349.jpg)
Denise Levertov
![From the Harvard Art Museum Collection](/wp-content/uploads/Levy-349x349.jpg)
Julien Levy
![black and white portrait photograph of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti](/wp-content/uploads/Filippo_Tommaso_Marinetti-349x349.jpg)
Filipo Tomasso Marinetti
![Robert McAlmon, Image courtesy Clark Art Institute. clarkart.edu](/wp-content/uploads/mcalmon-349x349.jpg)
Robert McAlmon
![Black and white photograph of group of female war correspondents](/wp-content/uploads/War_correspondents-349x349.jpg)
Lee Miller
![Moore in her tricorn hat and cape](/wp-content/uploads/Marianne-Moore-2-349x349.jpg)
Marianne Craig Moore
![Richard Oelze](/wp-content/uploads/image1-2-349x349.jpg)
Richard Oelze
![Foto giovanile di Papini nel decennio 1910-1920.](/wp-content/uploads/Papini2-349x349.jpg)
Giovanni Papini
![Jules Pascin (1885 - 1930)](/wp-content/uploads/Jules_Pascin_image2017118171410-349x349.png)
Jules Pascin
![Francis Picabia](/wp-content/uploads/F-Picabia-349x349.jpg)
Francis Picabia
![Ezra Pound, ca. 1913.](/wp-content/uploads/Ezra-Pound-young-349x349.jpg)
Ezra Pound
![black and white photograph of Elsa Schiaparelli c.1937](/wp-content/uploads/Elsa_schiaparelli_1937-349x349.jpg)
Elsa Schiaparelli
![Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein from their literary archive at Beinecke Library](/wp-content/uploads/basketpepe_0-349x349.jpeg)
Gertrude Stein
![black and white photograph of Man Ray, Joseph Stella, and Marcel Duchamp c.1920](/wp-content/uploads/Man_Ray_1920_Three_Heads_Joseph_Stella_and_Marcel_Duchamp_gelatin_silver_print_20.7_x_15.7_cm_Museum_of_Modern_Art-349x349.jpg)
Joseph Stella
![black and white portrait photograph of Francis Simpson Stevens](/wp-content/uploads/stevens-349x349.jpg)
Frances Simpson Stevens
![black and white portrait photograph of Alfred Stieglitz](/wp-content/uploads/330px-Alfred_Stieglitz-349x349.jpg)
Alfred Stieglitz
![black and white portrait photograph of Clara Tice with dog](/wp-content/uploads/lossless-page1-220px-ClaraTice1916.tif-349x349.png)
Clara Tice
![Tristan Tzara: https://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/dada/Tristan-Tzara.html](/wp-content/uploads/Tristan-Tzara-07-349x349.gif)
Tristan Tzara
![black and white portrait photograph of Carl Van Vechten](/wp-content/uploads/220px-Self-Portrait_of_Carl_Van_Vechten_Crisco_edit-349x349.jpg)
Carl Van Vechten
![black and white photograph of Glenway Wescott](/wp-content/uploads/unnamed-349x349.png)
Glenway Wescott
![William Carlos Williams passport photograph c.1921](/wp-content/uploads/330px-William_Carlos_Williams_passport_photograph_1921_cropped-349x349.jpg)
William Carlos Williams
![black and white photograph of Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia, and Beatrice Wood taken at the Broadway Photo Shop in New York City c.1917](/wp-content/uploads/330px-Marcel_Duchamp_Francis_Picabia_and_Beatrice_Wood_at_the_Broadway_Photo_Shop_NYC_1917-349x349.jpg)
Beatrice Wood
![black and white photograph of Thelma Wood](/wp-content/uploads/T-Wood-349x349.jpg)
Thelma Wood