The Modern Novel

Biography

Eva Švankmajerová was born Eva Dvořáková in 1940 in Kostelec nad Černými lesy. When she was two, she was sent to live with her grandmother in Osek. Her grandmother suffered from depression and transferred her negative view of life to her granddaughter. At her grandmother’s she read old editions of women’s magazines and this influenced her both as regards the language and subject matter. She returned to live with her parents after the war. However she suffered from neurosis and attempted suicide at the age of sixteen.

She had been interested in drawing from an early age and in the years 1954–1958 she studied woodcarving at the Industrial School of Housing Design. She later studied scenography at the Puppet Department of the Academy of Performing Arts. She became involved in theatre production. She met and later married the filmmaker Jan Švankmajer.

After the events of 1968 the family emigrated to Austria but soon returned home. They became members of the Surrealist Group, a literary-artist group and participated in its activities. Eva worked as a costume designer and later set up a ceramic workshop and the couple started making animated films. She died of breast cancer in 2005. She painted numerous paintings, made films and published a few books, primarily poetry.

Other links

Eva Švankmajerová
Eva Švankmajerová
Eva Svankmajerova — Czech surrealist artist
Eva Švankmajerová: Collaboration and Individuation by Rosalyn Frances
Czech Surrealist Eva Švankmajerová’s Film Posters and Hand-Lettering Evoke the Sense of Touch
Obituary
Obituary
Obituary