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 Britain

Prints and Drawings Rooms

5 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 photographer, sculptor and writer.

Schwob adopted the gender-ambiguous name 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 her autobiography, Disavowals, she 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

    Lubaina Himid and Peter C van Wyck

    New reflections on two works by Bridget Riley and Claude Cahun

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    Can a book with no text paint a portrait of a writer? Elisabeth Lebovici examines the challenging representation of identity …

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