Claude Cahun

1894–1954

Claude Cahun, ‘I Extend My Arms’ 1931 or 1932
I Extend My Arms 1931 or 1932
© The estate of Claude Cahun
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In Tate Liverpool

Whose Tradition?: Whose Tradition?

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Rooms

4 artworks by Claude Cahun
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Biography

Claude Cahun (25 October 1894 – 8 December 1954), born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob, was a French queer photographer, sculptor and writer.

Schwob adopted the pseudonym Claude Cahun in 1917 and is best known for self-portraits, in which Cahun assumed a variety of personae.

Cahun's work was both political and personal, and often undermined traditional concepts of static gender roles. In their autobiography, Disavowals, they explained, "Masculine? Feminine? It depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me."

During WWII, Cahun was also active as a resistance worker and propagandist.

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Surrealism

Artworks

Features

  • Claude Cahun, ‘I Extend My Arms’ 1931 or 1932

    MicroTate 36

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