More than Picasso’s Muse: Dora Maar Shines in Her Own Exhibition Featuring Her Revolutionary Photographs

Dora Maar is often remembered as Pablo Picasso's mistress. However, she was also an artist in her own right, and this month, Amar Gallery launched the exhibition, Dora Maar: Behind the Lens, featuring Maar's photographs and photograms, to help bring her out of the painter's shadow.

Born in 1907, Maar opened her own photography studio in the 1930s, producing fashion editorials and advertisement with a touch of surrealism. By the time she met Picasso, she was deemed a revolutionary photographer, and "a pioneer admired by the likes of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Man Ray," says gallerist Amar Singh.

She served as Picasso's muse, and was famously depicted more than 60 times, often in tears, as in Weeping Woman. More than that, Maar influenced Picasso's political views-adopting anti-fascist sentiments early on, she helped pave the way for Picasso's Guernica after the eponymous town was bombed in 1937. She painted some of the dying horses in Guernica, at Picasso's request, and was the only photographer to document its creation.

These photographs form part of Amar Gallery's exhibition, which will feature both iconic works, and unusual photograms rarely seen on the market. It will also coincide with the July 4 release of the historical fiction novel, The Paris Muse, and the third run of the theatrical production, Maar, Dora, in August. The Paris Muse is written by Louisa Treger, and follows the relationship between Maar and Picasso. Maar, Dora, is written by Nadia Jackson, and produced by Amar Gallery.

Picasso psychologically abused Maar, and yet their relationship lasted for nine years, into the 1940s. When they separated, she began a painting career, and then resumed photography in the 1980s. When she died in 1997, aged 89, her photographs of Picasso were found under her bed in her apartment, surrounded by the artist's paintings of her.

Treger says: "This renewed interest in [Maar] reflects a broader movement towards viewing iconic male artists like Picasso in a more nuanced way, from the perspectives of the women who shared their lives."

Dora Maar: Behind the Lens runs from June 16 to August 18 at Amar Gallery in London.