Renate Druks (2 January 1921 – 15 December 2007) was an American painter and filmmaker. She worked in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where she also practiced Thelema, the occult religious movement established by Aleister Crowley. She acted as a

muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

to other artists including

Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...

Marjorie Cameron Marjorie Cameron Parsons Kimmel (April 23, 1922 – June 24, 1995), who professionally used the mononym Cameron, was an American artist, poet, actress and occultist. A follower of Thelema, the new religious movement established by the Engli ...

and

Kenneth Anger Kenneth Anger (born Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer, February 3, 1927) is an American underground experimental filmmaker, actor, and author. Working exclusively in short films, he has produced almost 40 works since 1937, nine of which have been grouped ...

. Druks was born in Vienna on 2 January 1921 into a Jewish family and went on to study at the Vienna Art Academy for Women. In 1938, she and her American husband fled Austria for the United States with their son, Peter. She studied further at the Art Students League, spent several years in Mexico, and eventually settled in Los Angeles. She threw lavish parties at her Malibu home, one of which becamse the inspiration for Anger's 1954 film, '' Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome''. Druks painted in a surrealist style and was inspired by paganism, tarot, and the occult. Her subjects were typically women and cats, and her style has been compared to

Leonora Carrington Mary Leonora Carrington (6 April 191725 May 2011) was a British-born Mexican artist, surrealist painter, and novelist. She lived most of her adult life in Mexico City and was one of the last surviving participants in the surrealist movement of ...

and

Leonor Fini Leonor Fini (30 August 1907 – 18 January 1996) was an Argentinian born Italian surrealist painter, designer, illustrator, and author, known for her depictions of powerful and erotic women. Early life Fini was born in Buenos Aires, Argentin ...

. Her painting found little commercial success during her lifetime, but in July 2021, fourteen years after her death and more than fifty years since her last solo exhibit, a collection of her paintings was exhibited at Max Levai's Ranch gallery in

Montauk, New York Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318. The ...

. She was a close friend of Anaïs Nin and, in 1979, illustrated and published Nin's memoir of their friendship, ''Portrait in Three Dimensions''. Nin's 1964 novel, '' Collages'', was also inspired by Druks and the two collaborated on a screenplay adapted from the work. Druks was also a filmmaker. In 1967 she made a 12 minute documentary about her painting process, titled ''A Painters Journal''. In 1973 her short film '' Space Boy'' was nominated for a

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. ''Space Boy'' was intended as a sequel to her friend Curtis Harrington's 1966 science-fiction horror film, ''

Queen of Blood ''Queen of Blood'' (a.k.a. ''Planet of Blood'') is a 1966 science fiction horror film produced by George Edwards and Samuel Z. Arkoff, directed by Curtis Harrington, that stars John Saxon, Basil Rathbone, Dennis Hopper, and Judi Meredith. ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Druks, Renata 1921 births 2007 deaths American contemporary artists Film directors from Los Angeles American Thelemites Artists from Los Angeles Art Students League of New York alumni Jewish emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss to the United States Painters from Vienna