Biography

Ana Mendieta was born on November 18, 1948 in Havana, Cuba. She was a director and writer, known for Butterfly (1975), Parachute (1973) and Door Piece (1973). She was married to Carl Andre. She died on September 8, 1985 in New York City, New York, USA.

In 1983, Mendieta was awarded the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome.

Graduated from the University of Iowa where she earned a BA and MA in painting and an MFA in Intermedia under the instruction of acclaimed artist Hans Breder.

At age 12, Ana and her 15-year-old sister Raquelin were sent to the United States by their parents to live in Dubuque, Iowa through Operation Peter Pan, a collaborative program run by the US government and the Catholic Charities to bring Cuban refugee children to America after Fidel Castro came to power.

In 1978, Ana Mendieta joined the Artists In Residence Inc (A.I.R. Gallery) in New York, which was the first gallery for women to be established in the United States.