The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 17, 2024

Gypsy Palmist

Gypsy Palmist

1934
(French, 1907–1997)
France, 20th century
gelatin silver print, ferrotyped
Image: 26.8 x 24 cm (10 9/16 x 9 7/16 in.); Paper: 30.3 x 24 cm (11 15/16 x 9 7/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 2007.150
© 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Dora Maar used a lightweight, handheld Rolleiflex camera, which allowed her to photograph street scenes quickly.

Description

In 1934 Dora Maar traveled to London where she photographed street life, documenting the harsh reality of those trying to survive during the Great Depression, but also finding some lighter, surreal scenes like this one. From the street below, she captured the strangely disembodied head and hands in the palm reader’s window at a skewed angle that emphasizes the uncanny sight.
  • The artist's estate, Paris
    November 19, 1999
    (PIASA, Paris, Nov. 19, 1999, no. 33, sold to Michael Mattis)
    Michael Mattis [b.1960-1], New York, NY
    David Raymond [b.1979], New York, NY
    2007-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E. Hinson, Ian Walker, and Lisa Kurzner. Forbidden Games: Surrealist and Modernist Photography : the David Raymond Collection in the Cleveland Museum of Art. 2014. Reproduced: p. 112, no. 70; mentioned: pp. 223-224.
    Schaffner, Ingrid, Julien Levy, and Colin Westerbeck. Accommodations of Desire: Surrealist Works on Paper Collected by Julien Levy. Pasadena, Calif: Curatorial Assistance, Inc, 2004. Mentioned: pp. 123.
    Maar, Dora. Dora Maar: Photographer. Long Island City, NY: Dorsky Gallery, 2004.
    Hinson, Tom E., "Photo Surrealism", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 48 no. 3, March 2008 mentioned & reproduced: p. 8 archive.org
  • Stories From Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).
    Forbidden Games: Surrealist and Modernist Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 19, 2014-January 11, 2015).
    Accommodations of Desire: Surrealist Works on Paper Collected by Julien Levy. Palmer Museum of Art (September 14-December 5, 2004); McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, MA (January 16-March 27, 2005); Crocker Art Museum, Sacaramento, CA (July 9-September 11, 2005); Portland Museum of Art (January 1-March 19, 2006).
    Dora Maar: Photographer. Dorsky Gallery (April 25-June 28, 2004).
  • {{cite web|title=Gypsy Palmist|url=false|author=Dora Maar|year=1934|access-date=17 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2007.150