The Tate exhibition is the first UK retrospective of the work of Dora Maar (1907–97). Born Henriette Théodora Markovitch, she grew up between Argentina and Paris and studied decorative arts and painting before switching her focus to photography. Her photographs and photomontages became celebrated icons of surrealism. Featuring over 200 works from a career spanning more than six decades, this exhibition shows how Maar’s eye for the unusual also translated to her commercial commissions, social documentary photographs, and paintings.
During the 1930s, Maar was active in left-wing revolutionary groups led by artists and intellectuals. In the winter of 1935–6 Maar met Pablo Picasso and their relationship had a profound effect on both their careers. She documented the creation of his most political work, Guernica 1937. He in turn immortalised her in Weeping Woman. Together they made a series of portraits that combined experimental photographic and printmaking techniques. Later Maar withdrew from photography and concentrated on painting. She returned to her darkroom only in her seventies. This exhibition explores the breadth of Maar’s long career.
Dora Maar, 1907-1997. 29 rue d’Astorg, c. 1936. Photograph, hand-coloured gelatin silver print on paper, 294 x 244 mm. Collection Centre Pompidou, Paris. Musée national d’art moderne. Centre de création industrielle. Photo © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI / P. Migeat / Dist. RMN-GP © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019
![[Model in Swimsuit]](https://i0.wp.com/artssummary.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/dora-maar-model-in-swimsuit-c.1936-1.jpg?resize=468%2C556&ssl=1)
Dora Maar, 1907-1997. Model in Swimsuit, 1936. Photograph, gelatin silver on paper, 197 x 167 mm. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019
Dora Maar, 1907-1997. Untitled (Hand-Shell), 1934. Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper, 401 x 289 mm. Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris. Photo © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019
Dora Maar, 1907-1997. Untitled (Fashion photograph), c. 1935. Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper, 300 x 200 mm. Collection Therond © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019
Dora Maar, 1907-1997. Untitled, c. 1933. Photograph, gelatin silver print, 240 x 183 mm. Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Richard and Ronay Menschel Fund for the Acquisition of Photographs © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019
Dora Maar, 1907-1997. The years lie in wait for you, c.1935. Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper, 355 × 254 mm. The William Talbott Hillman Collection © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019
Dora Maar, 1907-1997. Untitled, 1935. Photomontage, 232 x 150 mm. Photo © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI / P. Migeat / Dist. RMN-GP © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019
Dora Maar, 1907-1997. Untitled, c. 1980. Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper, 300 x 237 mm. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019
Dora Maar is curated by Karolina Ziebinska-Lewandowska, Curator, Centre Pompidou; Damarice Amao, Assistant Curator, Centre Pompidou; and Amanda Maddox, Associate Curator, the J. Paul Getty Museum; with Emma Lewis, Assistant Curator, Tate Modern. The Tate Modern presentation is curated by Emma Lewis with Emma Jones, Curatorial Assistant, Tate Modern.
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