Her work, populated by sphinx-like female figures, feral creatures, and elaborate psychological interiors, aligned her with Surrealism without ever belonging to it: she exhibited alongside the movement from the 1930s but declined formal membership throughout her career. She showed at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York and held retrospectives in Paris and Rome, while also designing costumes and sets for the Paris Opéra. A published author and central figure in Parisian intellectual life, she died in Paris in 1996.