Óscar Domínguez was a surrealist Spanish painter born in La Laguna in 1906. Coming from a rich family of banana traders, he moved to Paris in 1927 to help with the family business and started to paint. After his father’s death in 1931, he started to work in illustration to make a living. The artist painted surrealist works starting from 1932 before joining the surrealist group in 1934 organized by André Breton. He invited the group to exhibit their work on his island from 1935-1940. Dominguez exhibits a phonograph in 1938 during the International Exhibit of Surrealism which is then acquired by Pablo Picasso.
After this period he worked for a publication named ‘La Main à Plume’ with Paul Eluard, René Magritte and Pablo Picasso as an illustrator. This meeting would go on to modify the style of his work and mark his leaving of the group. In 1943 his first exhibit took place at the galerie Louis Carré and he was one of the first to use methods such as decalcomania and painting on felt. He had an impulsive character at times and was responsible for the loss of the left eye of Victor Brauner. The death of his friend Paul Eluard in 1952 had a very important impact on the artist who took his life in 1957 in his studio. His works are stored in collections such as that of the Museum of Modern Art of New York and of the George Pompidou center in Paris.