Irène Zurkinden

Irène's family was very open-minded and allowed the adolescent who wanted to become a fashion illustrator to enroll at Basel's art school in 1925.

There, Irène Zurkinden attended drawing classes with Albrecht Mayer (1875–1952), studied color theory under Arnold Fiechter (1879–1943) and graphic arts under Fritz Baumann (1886–1942).

That year, Irène Zurkinden made her first trip to Paris, where she continued her education for a few months at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.

In 1934, Irène Zurkinden met jazz musician Kurt Fenster, the son of a Brazilian circus artist and a German mother.

After World War 2, Irène Zurkinden lived in Basel and Paris and made long trips to Morocco (1948), Spain (1950/51) and Italy (1952/53).