Dora Maar
1907–1997 · France
Everyday reality touched by strangeness.
The story
In the 1930s, Dora Maar developed a photographic practice combining professional work, observation of the street and Surrealist experimentation. Her images explore shop windows, bodies, objects and transformative effects. She also worked in painting and publishing. Reading her photographs in their own right reveals an artist whose approaches extend far beyond her place in Picasso’s biography.
Understanding the work
Look for the moment when an ordinary detail becomes ambiguous: a mannequin, a shadow or a fragment of a body. A caption can solve a puzzle or leave it more open.
Key works and series
Mannequin in Window; portraits; street scenes; Surrealist photomontages.
Sources & further exploration
Works in collections.
5 recordsPhotographs to explore on museum and library websites, with titles, dates and processes. Each link opens the collection record and its image where one is available.
