Great White Wave

Sylvia Fein (1919-2024), associated with Surrealism and Magic Realism, was renowned for her meticulously crafted, fantastical egg tempera paintings. Fein, part of a circle of Midwestern surrealists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explored themes from mythology, dreams, and personal subconscious. Her early prominence included MoMA’s "Americans 1942" exhibition and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1947. Later life saw renewed interest, notably through her centennial exhibition at the Berkeley Art Museum. Fein’s work is held by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Chazen Museum of Art, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.