Meret Oppenheim

Meret Oppenheim was a Surrealist firecracker who famously slapped fur onto a teacup, saucer, and spoon, creating an iconic piece that both delighted and disturbed. This single, fuzzy stroke of genius, officially titled *Object*, unfortunately, overshadowed a lifetime of fantastically strange and varied work. Rumor has it the idea for her furry tableware was sparked by a cheeky chat with Picasso at a café. Another whispers that upon her return to her somewhat stuffy hometown, a scandal erupted over a rumor that she had posed nude for Man Ray in Paris. There's even a tale of a spectator being so incensed by her sculpture *My Nurse*—a pair of white heels trussed up like a turkey—that they smashed the original. While the truth of these tales may be debatable, they perfectly capture the provocative spirit of an artist who challenged conventions with wit and a wild imagination. She was, as artist Max Ernst supposedly dubbed her, a "sandwich stuffed with marble."