Pierre Roy

Who was Pierre Roy?

Pierre Roy was a French painter, illustrator and designer. His paintings, containing mysterious juxtapositions of objects, often inspired by memories of his childhood, show some affiliation to Surrealism and Magic Realism.

Born in Nantes, he moved to Paris and studied at the École des Arts Décoratifs and the Académie Julian. He was in contact with the Fauves, and with Apollinaire, Max Jacob and André Salmon. He painted his first characteristic works in about 1919. He developed a friendship with Giorgio de Chirico, who introduced him to André Breton, Louis Aragon, Max Ernst and the other Surrealists; his work was included in the first group exhibition of Surrealist painting at the Galerie Pierre in 1925 and in several of their other group shows. His first one-man exhibition was at the Galerie Pierre, Paris, in 1928. He designed sets for the theatre and ballet, including Le Lion Amoureux for Covent Garden and Jeux de Cartes for the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées; he also made woodcut and lithograph illustrations for several books, including Les Contes by Jules Supervielle. He produced several cover images for Vogue magazine. He died while on a visit to Milan.