Dorothea Tanning was an American painter, sculptor, writer and poet whose seven-decade career ranged from powerful early paintings that were heavily influenced by surrealism to extraordinary stuffed-textile sculptures. Here, we trace the trajectory of the artist's life and her compelling work. Born in Galesburg, Illinois in 1910, Dorothea Tanning was initially expected to become an actress; a series of photographs of her at age seven shows she had quite a flair for mugging and pulling faces: a born shape-shifter. But it was visual art that drew her, and she announced early on her intention to become a painter. When she was 15 she scandalised her parents by painting a naked woman with leaves instead of hair: they realised, to their horror, that their daughter was a 'bohemian'. It was 1942's Birthday, however, that would secure Tanning's future. That year Peggy Guggenheim was organising an all-female exhibition for her gallery, Art of This Century