The Passengers from Les Fleurs du Mal Charles BoudelIne, Lithograph @1964
(LAFAYETTE, NJ) -- The Skylands Museum of Art (Skylands Museum) presents Fini...pas fini! (from the French: Fini is not finished!), a temporary fine art exhibition from the permanent collection of over 30 works by internationally recognized artist Leonor Fini from May 16 to September 26, 2026. Skylands Museum will exhibit original drawings, etchings, silkscreens and lithographs of portraits, sphinxes, female figures, cats and fantastical beings imagined by the fascinating artist.
The temporary exhibition will be open to the public each Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12:00pm - 6:00pm and be highlighted with special events. The Skylands Museum of Art is located at 15 Route 15 in Lafayette, New Jersey. Admission to Fini…pas fini! is included with Museum entrance of $10 per person donation to support the museum.
Leonor Fini (1907-1996) is known for her captivating and enigmatic works. Born in Argentina and raised in Italy, she spent most of her career in Paris. Fini was a multifaceted artist, creating in numerous areas of the visual, literary and performing arts. She excelled in painting, drawing and costume design; she authored books, illustrated the classics and designed sets and costumes for opera and ballet productions; she also designed furniture.
Working with Elsa Schiaparelli, the avant-garde fashion designer of the time, Fini designed a highly successful bottle for Schiaparelli’s “Shocking” fragrance using the figure of American actress Mae West for the shape. Though often cited with artists from the Parisian Surrealist Movement of her time, she rejected that label. Fini lived independently, sharing homes with partners and friends throughout her life. This unconventional lifestyle challenged societal norms and made her a fascinating figure in the art world and a woman way ahead of her time.
Worldwide interest in her fellow surrealists, as well as in Fini’s contributions to the prevailing art movements of the time, are demonstrated by large exhibitions held recently in London, Paris, Milan and New York. Skylands Museum is delighted to present these works and to inform viewers about the influences which shaped Fini and how her vision continues to shape the art world. Ailene Fields, Skylands Museum Founder said, “she is not over!”
Independent art specialist Curci said: “I met Fini - and her cats - at her home in Paris in 1972. By the mid-1980’s we were friends and I was selling her work to private collectors in the United States. Fini was unlike any other of her time, she circulated among the leading Surrealists of the day but would not join the movement. She is like her art – filled with magic and mystery.” Curci is President of Sabbatique Ltd., a fine art advisory and appraisal service. Curci has spoken at museums, galleries and auction houses on Fini and will present a personal and insightful gallery talk on the life, psychology and art of Leonor Fini at Skylands Museum. Registration is required to attend Curci’s presentation.
Art Appraiser Carol Curci in the apartment of Leonor Fini surrounded by the artist’s works. Photo by Richard Overstreet archives
Skylands Museum will hold two special events underscoring the life, talents and artworks of the artist. An Opening Reception on Saturday, May 16th from 2:00pm to 6:00pm will the debut the exhibition. Certified art appraiser and Fini authority, Carol Curci, AAA (Appraisers Association of America) will hold gallery talks on key works during the public event.
On Friday, May 15 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, Curci will present an in-depth exploration of Fini, her life, psychology and art from a personal perspective as her friend and colleague. Registration is required to attend this small-group event and is $50 per person, which includes the presentation, live music, light refreshments, and a special gift bag with four softcover Fini books-catalogues and 12+ vintage post-card sized reproductions of Fini works. Live jazz from the 1920’s-30’s and refreshments will accent the presentation and silent auction that evening. The silent auction will include coffee table art books, original art and silk scarves from France with Fini’s colorful “Heliadora.” To become a member or to attend the scheduled events, please register on the museum website.
L’Egaree De Stagliano, Offset Lithograph @1970
Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907, moved to Italy as a very young child, and spend most of her career working in France. Her early years were spent in turmoil. After her parents divorced, her mother fled Argentina with her infant to northern Italy to escape her father’s repeated threat to kidnap the child. To protect her identity, Fini’s mother dressed her as a boy. During her teens, Fini suffered temporary blindness, which strengthened her imagination and desire for a career in fine art.
By 1924 at the age of 17, Fini was a professional portrait painter and by 1929 had her first one person show in Milan, and by 1932 had her first show in Paris. She was one of the artists exhibited in Peggy Guggenheim's 31 Women show of 1943. Fini continued to live and work in France until her death in Paris at the age of 89. Today, her works are held in private and public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and the Tate Modern in London. Skylands Museum of Art will present over 30 works during the Fini…pas fini! temporary exhibition.
Though she had no formal artistic training, Fini studied the works of the Italian Mannerist painters and their use of elongated forms. She also studied anatomy. In 1931, the artist moved to Paris where she befriended Giorgio de Chirico, Max Ernst, and Leonora Carrington. During this time, the revolutionary artistic and intellectual movement called Surrealism was taking shape in Paris, where it was led by Andre Breton. Although she aligned herself with many of the Surrealist artists and themes, she maintained her individuality and non-conformity by refusing to join the movement.
Extreme Nuit, Lithograph
Fini, best known for her paintings, drawings and prints, also designed costumes and sets for operas and ballets; she authored and illustrated many books; and she designed a revolutionary perfume bottle for Elsa Schiaprelli. Her work frequently includes her beloved cats, women, witches, fantastic sphinxes, erotica and the metamorphosis of life and death.
“Paintings, like dreams, have a life of their own and I have always painted very much the way I dream,” Fini once said. Erte, the art deco artist said of his contemporary, she is “a most talented and fascinating woman. Like a character from the Italian Renaissance, her beauty is wild, strange and flamboyant. She is a flame in the shape of a woman.”
Cat Lithograph, @1970
As Northern New Jersey’s newest fine art museum, Skylands Museum of Art focuses on enchanting and imaginative international 20th and 21st century sculpture, paintings and illustrations. The permanent collection features over 300 works by leading artists including Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Leonor Fini, Brian Froud, Massimo Rao, Anne Bachelier, Brian Branch, Michael Parkes and Ailene Fields.
The three-floor museum presents the works by theme such as fairy tales, mythology, dragons, faces and flowers, the human psyche, and more. The Sanctuary Room is particularly peaceful. Special events, creativity workshops and educational programs bring fine art experiences to the community, inspiring viewers of all ages to be open to different perspectives and to create visual and written work themselves.
The Skylands Museum of Art is a 501(c)(3) organization, a proud member of ArtPride New Jersey, New Jersey Association of Museums, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Sussex County Arts & Heritage Council and the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce. Funding is provided through the generosity of their visitors and members, whose donations have supported their expanded hours and programming. White Deer Innovation of Andover, NJ is generously supporting Sunday hours for all of 2026. Additionally, funding has been made available in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, through the State/County Partnership Block Grant Program, as administered by Sussex County Arts & Heritage Council.
