The last show today is devoted to the talented female photographer Dora Maar, another woman better known for her life than her art. In Dora Maar's case, it wasn't her affinity for Bohemian circles so much as her liaison with Pablo Picasso that brought her enormous attention. As Picasso's mistress and frequent model, Maar enjoyed the artistic limelight; but, unfortunately, her own work has languished behind the shadow of her famous lover's reputation. Perhaps this is why it is so much easier to find images of Maar (and particularly paintings of her by Picasso), then to locate her photography. As scholars are increasingly acknowledging, her work deserves a wider audience. For an interesting perspective on this artist, I recommend this review of Dora Maar's Photography by Donald Goddard.
I'll start with three works by Picasso in which Dora Mora was either the subject or the model (as in The Minotaur below), and two famous photos of her: one which appeared on a book about her love affair with Picasso, the second a photo of her shot by Man Ray.
And now on to Maar's photography. First, a note: these were all credited to Maar on the Net...but it's the Net, after all. A couple of them look like her (hmmm...perhaps self-portraits?) and at least one (in the furnished room) doesn't share the style of the others. If someone familiar with Maar knows more about the origins of these works, please leave a comment and let me know.
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