I first came across Dora Maar’s work while watching a recent BBC documentary series on Picasso. Maar was Picasso’s muse and her influence can be seen in many examples of his art, most famously in his Weeping Woman 1937 portrait. An artist friend suggested that I look her up when I mentioned the doc and my interest in photography. Maar was already an accomplished photographer at the top of her game when she first met Picasso, although like so many women artists within the canon of art history, she will forever be remembered as his mistress, when her contribution to the subject was so much more. Her work spanned photography (commercial, and later more conceptual) as well as experiments in painting and photograms. So I was pleased to receive a invite recently to attend the launch of the new Amar gallery in Fitzrovia; opening with an exhibition of Maar’s work. The aim of the gallery is to champion the work of those on the margins of the society (including artists of colour and LGBTQ practitioners) and the owner, Amar Singh is an activist as well as gallery owner. The show featured an eclectic mix of quotes from Maar, often revealing the nuances of her affair with the great maestro, as well as examples of her portraiture and surreal photography. It was a welcome exploration inside the mind of a relatively unknown artist but famous muse, who in reality had more to say than history has allowed her. It was also great to witness a live artwork in progress just outside the gallery (see the last image). Luckily, the sun was still shining when I left.

Dora Maar: Behind The Lens opens June 16th until 18th of August. www.amargallery.com/contact