The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 14, 2025

Vertically oriented black-and-white photograph of three statues covered in sacks patterned with vertically running light and dark stripes. The background is cast in darkness, with barely visible support beams branching out on the photograph's left side and a lantern-like contraption hanging over the statues. The statues all bend similarly under the sacks, like head and shoulders slumped down. The sacks are rumpled and speckled with holes.

Three Covered Statues

1931–36

Dora Maar

(French, 1907–1997)
France, 20th century
gelatin silver print
Image: 39.9 x 29.8 cm (15 11/16 x 11 3/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 2007.87
© 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Primarily known for her photography, Maar also worked in a variety of different artistic media including painting.

Description

In addition to her practice as a commercial photographer, Dora Maar was among the few women to exhibit with the Surrealists, a group of artists who produced uncanny images exploring dreams and the unconscious in their work. This photograph is exemplary of her experimental approach, which often involved manipulating negatives. The strong profiles and doubling of imagery seen here resemble Picasso’s work around this time. The two worked closely after meeting in 1935, and both their relationship and Maar’s practice had a profound impact on the style and subject matter of Picasso’s work.
  • The artist's estate, Paris
    November 19, 1999
    (PIASA, Paris, Nov. 19, 1999, no. 32, sold to Charles Isaacs)
    (Charles Isaacs, New York, NY)
    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. 116, no. 74; mentioned: pp. 222.
    Maar, Dora. Dora Maar: Bataille, Picasso et les surréalistes. [Marseille]: Musées de Marseille, 2000. Mentioned: pp. 268.
    Maar, Dora, and Victoria Combalía Dexeus. Dora Maar: Haus der Kunst München, 13. Oktober 2001-6. Januar 2002 ; Musées de Marseille, Centre de la Vieille Charité, 20. Januar-4. Mai 2002 ; Centre Cultural Tecla Sala, L'Hospitalet Barcelona, 15. Mai- 15. Juli 2002. München: Haus der Kunst München, 2001. Reproduced: p. 179, no. 116; mentioned: pp. 328.
    Maar, Dora. Dora Maar: Photographer. Long Island City, NY: Dorsky Gallery, 2004.
    Ades, Dawn. "Chance Encounters and the 'Modern Marvelous'." In Dora Maar, 77-98. Eds., Damarice Amao, Amanda Maddox, and Karolina Ziebinska-Lewandowska. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2019. Reproduced: p. 86, Plate 92.
  • Picasso and Paper. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (co-organizer) (December 8, 2024-March 23, 2025).
    Dora Maar. Centre national d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou, Paris, France (organizer) (June 5-July 28, 2019); Tate Modern (November 19, 2019-March 15, 2020).
    Forbidden Games: Surrealist and Modernist Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 19, 2014-January 11, 2015).
    Dora Maar: Photographer. Dorsky Gallery (April 25-June 28, 2004).
    Dora Maar: Bataille, Picasso, et les Surréalistes. Haus der Kunst, Munich, Mùnich, Germany (October 13, 2001-January 6, 2002); Centre de la Vieille Charité, Marseille, France (February 7-April 30, 2002); Centre d’Art Tecla Sala, L’Hospitalet, Spain (May 21-July 15, 2002).
  • {{cite web|title=Three Covered Statues|url=false|author=Dora Maar|year=1931–36|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2007.87