Marie Laurencin

Marie Laurencin (31 October 1883 – 8 June 1956) was a French painter and printmaker. She became an important figure in the Parisian avant-garde as a member of the Cubists associated with the Section d'Or.

Laurencin was born in Paris, where she would live for most of her life. She was raised there by her mother, Pauline-Mélanie Laurencin (1861–1913), an unmarried domestic servant. Although never confirmed, Marie Laurencin believed that she had Creole heritage through her maternal grandmother, something she saw as part of her identity her whole life. Her father, fiscal administrator Alfred-Stanislas Toulet (1839–1905), visited her during her childhood and paid for her education. At 18, she studied porcelain painting in Sèvres. She then returned to Paris and continued her art education at the Académie Humbert, where she changed her focus to oil painting.

During the early years of the 20th century, Laurencin was an important figure in the Parisian avant-garde.