Remember? by Niki de Saint Phalle
Strength by Niki de Saint Phalle
Nana and Serpent by Niki de Saint Phalle
Nana by Niki de Saint Phalle
Do You Like My Brain? by Niki de Saint Phalle
Green Goddess by Niki de Saint Phalle
Serpent Chair by Niki de Saint Phalle
Adriana by Niki de Saint Phalle
Shooting Picture by Niki de Saint Phalle
Dog Vase by Niki de Saint Phalle
L'oiseau Amoureux by Niki de Saint Phalle
Untitled by Niki de Saint Phalle

Niki de Saint Phalle

1930–2002 · American

Saint Phalle fired a .22 rifle at plaster assemblages embedded with bags of paint, knives, scissors, baby-doll arms, and the occasional tomato. The paint bled like wounds. She called them Tirs (shooting paintings), and they made her famous in the early 1960s.

Key facts

Lived
1930–2002, American
Movement
Works held in
13 museums[1]

Biography

She was born Catherine Marie-Agnes Fal de Saint Phalle in 1930, into an aristocratic French family that had lost everything in the Depression. They moved to New York in 1933. Her father sexually abused her from the age of eleven, a fact she disclosed publicly in her 1994 autobiography. She eloped at eighteen. Art began as therapy after a severe mental breakdown in 1953. She was the only female member of the Nouveau Realisme movement.

The Nanas, her best-known sculptures, are exuberant, rotund female figures in bright colours, celebrating feminine power and joy. The Tarot Garden in Garavicchio, Tuscany, her life's work, consists of twenty-two monumental sculptures inspired by Gaudi's Park Guell. She spent over twenty years building it and lived inside the Empress sculpture during construction. She called it a refuge for healing from her childhood.

Timeline

  1. 1961Painted "Shooting Picture" aged 31.
  2. 1964Painted "Be My Frankenstein" aged 34.
  3. 1978Painted "Arbre de la Liberté" aged 48.
  4. 1984Painted "18th Montreux jazz festival (Poster)" aged 54.
  5. 1999Painted "Do You Like My Brain?" aged 69.
  6. 2000Painted "L'oiseau Amoureux" aged 70.

Notable Works

Tap to view larger.

Where to See Niki de Saint Phalle

2 museums worldwide.

Plan your visit →

  • National Gallery of Art

    Washington, D.C., United States

    8 works
    Museum detailsMap

  • Metropolitan Museum of Art

    New York City, United States

    1 works
    Museum detailsMap

Related Artists

Jasper Johns

Jasper Johns

1930–present · American

Anselm Kiefer

Anselm Kiefer

1945–present · German

Georg Baselitz

Georg Baselitz

1938–present · German

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol

1928–1987 · American

Yves Klein

Yves Klein

1928–1962 · French

Cy Twombly

Cy Twombly

1928–2011 · American

Plan your visit to see Niki de Saint Phalle →

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Niki de saint phalle art movement?
    Niki de Saint Phalle was the only female member of the Nouveau Realisme movement.
  • Niki de saint phalle artwork?
    Niki de Saint Phalle's artwork includes assemblage and three-dimensional polyester female forms.
  • Niki de saint phalle facts?
    Niki de Saint Phalle disclosed in her 1994 autobiography that her father sexually abused her from the age of eleven.
  • Niki de saint phalle most famous work?
    Niki de Saint Phalle's best-known sculptures are the Nanas, exuberant, rotund female figures in bright colours.
  • What is niki de saint phalle known for?
    Niki de Saint Phalle is known for her sculptures of Nanas, exuberant, rotund female figures in bright colours.
  • When was niki de saint phalle?
    Niki de Saint Phalle was born in 1930.
  • Where are niki de saint phalle sculptures?
    Some of Niki de Saint Phalle's sculptures are located in Buffalo, New York.
  • Where is niki de saint phalle tarot garden?
    Niki de Saint Phalle's Tarot Garden is in Garavicchio, Tuscany.
  • Who is niki de saint phalle?
    Niki de Saint Phalle was a female artist born in the United States in 1930.
  • Where did niki de saint phalle die?
    Niki de Saint Phalle died in 2002 at the age of 72.
  • Where is niki de saint phalle from?
    Niki de Saint Phalle was United States, born in 1930 and died in 2002.
  • Niki de saint phalle shooting paintings?
    Niki de Saint Phalle created 'shooting paintings' called Tirs by firing a .22 rifle at plaster assemblages embedded with bags of paint.

Sources

Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Niki de Saint Phalle.

  1. [1] museum Sprengel Museum Used for: museum holdings.
  2. [2] museum Princeton Art Museum Used for: museum holdings.
  3. [3] museum National Gallery of Art Used for: museum holdings.
  4. [4] museum Metropolitan Museum of Art Used for: museum holdings.
  5. [5] museum Musée National d'Art Moderne Used for: museum holdings.
  6. [6] museum Mingei International Museum Used for: museum holdings.
  7. [7] book Laurie Adams, 9780077551957.pdf Used for: stylistic analysis.
  8. [8] book Staff, Craig, After Modernist Painting_ The History of a Contemporary Practice (International Library of Modern and Contemporary Art Book 3) Used for: biography, stylistic analysis.
  9. [9] book Staff, Craig, After Modernist Painting_ The History of a Contemporary Practice (International Library of Modern and Contemporary Art Book 3)_1 Used for: biography, stylistic analysis.
  10. [10] book Bock Weiss, Catherine C.(Author), Artist Resource Manuals : Henri Matisse : A Guide to Research Used for: biography.
  11. [11] book Fred S. Kleiner;, Gardner's Art Through the Ages Used for: museum holdings.
  12. [12] book guggenheim-comett00giac Used for: museum holdings.
  13. [13] book guggenheim-invested00blis Used for: biography.
  14. [14] book guggenheim-jeandubuffetretr00dubu Used for: museum holdings.
  15. [15] book guggenheim-jeandubuffetretr00newy Used for: biography.
  16. [16] book guggenheim-mariomerz00cela Used for: biography.
  17. [17] book guggenheim-museum00solo Used for: stylistic analysis.
  18. [18] book guggenheim-pifiron00gimn Used for: museum holdings.
  19. [19] book guggenheim-transfsi00wald Used for: biography.
  20. [20] book Bock-Weiss, Catherine; Matisse, Henri, Henri Matisse_ A Guide to Research (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities) Used for: biography.
  21. [21] book Braun, Emily, 1957-; Asor Rosa, Alberto; Royal Academy of Arts (Great Britain), Italian art in the 20th century : painting and sculpture, 1900-1988 Used for: biography.
  22. [22] book Penelope J.E. Davies, Walter B. Denny, Frima Fox Hofrichter, Joseph Jacobs, Ann S. Roberts, David L. Simon, Janson's History of Art_ The Western Tradition (8th Edition) Used for: museum holdings.
  23. [23] book Hodge, Susie, 1960- author, The short story of women artists : a pocket guide to movements, works, breakthroughs, & themes Used for: biography, stylistic analysis.

Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-24. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.

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