Self-portrait

Artist Claude Cahun (French, 1894 - 1954)

Dateca. 1928

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsImage: 4 1/8 × 3 1/8 inches (10.49 × 7.95 cm)
Sheet: 4 11/16 × 3 1/2 inches (11.91 × 8.89 cm)
Mount: 7 5/8 × 6 7/16 inches (19.38 × 16.31 cm)

Credit LineGift of the Hall Family Foundation

Object number2018.28.5

Signednone

Inscribednone

MarkingsOn sheet verso, bottom, in pencil: “PF46122-111” / “Pms [?] #ch9811.066-c”

On View

Not on view

Collections

Photography

Terms

DescriptionImage of a woman standing in front of a patterned curtain wearing a dark cape with masquerade masks adhered to it. She wears heavy makeup which accentuates her dark lips and eyebrows. She engages the spectator with a strong, direct gaze.Gallery Label

Gallery Label

"Under this mask, another mask; I will never finish removing all these faces." -Claude Cahun

Claude Cahun's photography, writing, and theater reflected the Surrealist movement's celebration of ambiguity and dreams. Cahun is best known for self-portraits that evoke a wide range of imaginative roles and identities. Often appearing as androgynous, costumed figures, Cahun used photography to challenge limited, binary gender roles during her lifetime. Today, Cahun's explorations of genderfluid self-representation are celebrated as pioneering artistic achievements.

Provenance

with Zabriskie Gallery, New York, NY;
Purchased from them by Thomas Watlher, Germany;
Purchased from him by Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, NY;
Purchased from them by The Hall Family Foundation, Kansas City, MO, 2018;
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2018.

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