Dora Maar's Revolutionary Photography Gets Major London Retrospective

A major retrospective of Dora Maar (1907-1997) has opened at Tate Modern in London, following its run at Centre Pompidou in Paris. The exhibition spans Maar's entire career, from her early fashion photography in 1930s Europe to her surrealist photomontages and later paintings. She began as a fashion photographer for glossy magazines while documenting urban poverty in Paris, London, and Barcelona for leftist intellectual circles. Her surrealist period, influenced by Brassaï, produced iconic works like 'Portrait of Ubu' (1936), an enigmatic armadillo. The show highlights 'Conversation' (1937), where Maar depicts herself beside Picasso's former lover Marie-Thérèse Walter, displayed alongside Picasso's portraits of Maar and her self-portraits. This work is exhibited publicly for only the third time. Maar was the first female photographer to shoot female nudes in unusual plastic poses and surreal settings. The exhibition runs until March 15, 2020.