Sonia Delaunay

Born in 1885 in the Russian Empire, formally trained in Russia and Germany, she moved to Paris and became part of the School of Paris. With her husband Robert Delaunay she co-founded Orphism, an art movement built on strong color and geometric shapes. Her practice refused the gallery wall: she folded modern design into art itself, working across textiles, fashion, and set design as seriously as painting. In 1964 the Louvre gave her a retrospective while she was still alive, the first time for a woman. In 1975 France named her an officer of the Legion of Honor. She died in 1979.