6 October 1913, Berlin, Germany -

15 November 1985, Basel, Switzerland

In 1932 a young Meret Oppenheim moved to Paris where she mixed with the Surrealists including Max Ernst, Salvador Dalí, and Man Ray. She found fame early after her Object was bought by Alfred Barr for the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1936. The inspiration behind this work came from a fur-covered bangle she had made for herself. While having breakfast with Pablo Picasso and Dora Maar at Les Deux Magots in Paris, Picasso noticed her bracelet and joked that anything could be covered with form so she did just that, covering a cup, saucer and teaspoon with a speckled tan gazelle fur.