During the 1930s, Dora Maar’s provocative photomontages became celebrated icons of surrealism.
Her eye for the unusual also translated to her commercial photography, including fashion and advertising, as well as to her social documentary projects. In Europe’s increasingly fraught political climate, Maar signed her name to numerous left-wing manifestos – a radical gesture for a woman at that time.
Her relationship with Pablo Picasso had a profound effect on both their careers. She documented the creation of his most political work, Guernica 1937. He painted her many times, including Weeping Woman 1937. Together they made a series of portraits combining experimental photographic and printmaking techniques.
In middle and later life Maar withdrew from photography. She concentrated on painting and found stimulation and solace in poetry, religion, and philosophy, returning to her darkroom only in her seventies.
This exhibition will explore the breadth of Maar's long career in the context of work by her contemporaries.
Dora Maar Man looking inside a sidewalk inspection door, London c.1935 Collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg, New York, courtesy art2art Circulating Exhibitions © Estate of Dora Maar / DACS 2019, All Rights Reserved
Dora Maar Model in Swimsuit 1936 The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © Estate of Dora Maar / DACS 2019, All Rights Reserved
Dora Maar Portrait d'Ubu 1936 Musée National d'Art Moderne - Centre Pompidou (Paris, France) © Estate of Dora Maar / DACS 2019, All Rights Reserved
Dora Maar The Simulator 1936 Musée National d'Art Moderne - Centre Pompidou (Paris, France) © Estate of Dora Maar / DACS 2019, All Rights Reserved
Dora Maar Woman sitting in profile, the bust dressed in a blouse made of tattoo patterns drawn on the photograph c. 1930 Private Collection © Estate of Dora Maar / DACS 2019, All Rights Reserved
The exhibition is organised by Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, Paris and the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
