Barbican Art Gallery Examines Artistic Couples in 'Modern Couples'

The Barbican Art Gallery in London presents 'Modern Couples: Art, Intimacy and the Avant-garde', an exhibition featuring over forty artist couples active in the first half of the 20th century. The show pairs artworks with personal photographs, love letters, gifts, and rare archival material, revealing the intimate side of famous partnerships. Highlights include photographs of Jean Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Lee Miller and Man Ray, Varvara Stepanova and Alexander Rodchenko, Edward Weston and Margrethe Mather; sculptures by Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin; works by Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera; a photo of Pablo Picasso taken by Dora Maar; and shots of Federico García Lorca and Salvador Dalí at Cadaqués, and Emilie Flöge, muse of Gustav Klimt. Literature also plays a key role, focusing on Virginia Woolf and her 1928 novel 'Orlando', dedicated to poet Vita Sackville-West, with whom she had a relationship. The exhibition runs until January 27, 2019 at the Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London.