An art gallery champions overlooked female, minority, and LGBT+ artists in London.

The exhibition is a celebration of Maar’s life and is in conjunction with the upcoming release of bestselling author Louisa Treger’s book, “The Paris Muse," based on Maar’s affair with Picasso, and the theatrical production Maar, Dora, which is performing at Camden Fringe in August and is produced by Amar Gallery, Nadia Jackson, and Spiky Saul.

Dora Maar: Behind the Lens presents surrealist works by Maar as well as photographs of Picasso and Guernica, the celebrated anti-war paintings for which Maar was the only official photographer.

The exhibition also revisits Maar’s erasure throughout art history. As a photographer, she was a pioneer, admired by the likes of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Man Ray.

Her position as Picasso’s lover obscured her artistic talent, which extended far beyond photography, and included poetry and painting.

Arriving in Paris at the age of 19, Maar studied at the progressive Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Academy Julian, and Ecole de Photographie. Here, she refined her distinctive black-and-white photographic style. She soon established herself as a prominent photographer associated with surrealism, exhibiting at the 1936 International Surrealist Exhibition in London alongside Salvador Dali, Man Ray, Eileen Agar, and Paul Eluard.

As Time magazine wrote in 2022, Maar’s anti-fascist worldview influenced Picasso’s art.

Part of the proceeds from Dora Maar: Behind the Lens will go towards supporting Shakit Vahini & We Power, two notable anti-trafficking organisations in India which serve to protect women and children in India.

Kanwar Amar Jit Singh, founder of Amar Gallery

Amar Singh is a British-Indian art gallery owner, art dealer, film producer, female rights advocate, LGBQT+ ally, and philanthropist. Amar is an activist who has been instrumental in fighting against LGBQT+ conversion therapy in India, and he has campaigned for the legislation of same-sex relationships in India.

Amar’s charitable support has been focused on the rights and protection of women and children being subjected to violence, exploitation, and trafficking in India.

Indian royal Kanwar Amar Jit Singh “Amar Singh” is a member of the erstwhile Kapurthala royal family and is a direct descendent of Raja Nihal Singh, a 19th-century Indian king.

Amar comes from a long line of activists fighting for equality and women’s rights. Amar’s grandmother, Veena Singh, a headmistress and educator in Punjab, championed women’s educational rights during British rule in India alongside India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Prime Minister Nehru often visited the region and met with Venna as part of efforts to widen women’s and general education initiatives.

Amar’s ancestor, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, was India’s first health minister, founded India’s first women’s education fund, and fought for India’s independence alongside Mahatma Gandhi, whom she served as secretary for 16 years.

Born in the UK, Amar studied at St John’s Beaumont School in Windsor, Charterhouse School in Godalming, Licensed Victuallers School in Ascot for sixth form, and Harvard University (which he dropped out of).

Amar’s art inspirations include Helen Frankenthaler, Dora Maar, Jean Cocteau, Lynne Mapp Drexler, Grace Harrigan, Perle Fine, Judith Godwin, Lawrence Calcagno, Alice Baber, Howard Tangye—most of these trailblazing artists he has shown at his first London gallery in Islington.

Amar Singh spoke to MEER about art, empowerment, and Dora Maar.

How do you decide the content, what, and who to exhibit in your gallery?

I love to show artists of impact who have been overlooked. We are a research-led gallery, diving into the past (typically the 1930s and 1970s), trying to discover any artists who were overlooked due to gender, race, or sexuality.

Why the choice to open your art gallery with French artist Dora Maar’s work?

Dora Maar is one of my favorite artists, and her works are truly groundbreaking. Her mastery over photography and painting highlights that she was a visionary ahead of her time.

What fascinates you most about Dora Maar's life story?

Maar was resilient; she survived until an old age despite being disregarded as an artist and often only revered as Picasso's weeping woman. She was so much more than that.

You opened your gallery with a photographic exhibition and launched Louisa Treger’s book, “The Paris Muse." You are also one of the producers of a theatrical production. Is there any possibility of a film or series about the fantastic photographer who was not only “just” Picasso’s muse?

Absolutely! We are in preliminary discussions about a film.

You come from a long line of activists fighting for equality and women’s rights in India, how do you think art can contribute to a more equal society?

While the art world can be pretentious, art itself is very healing, and it is also a medium which represents the history of humanity. We can look towards this history and strive to be better. Various art forms remain symbols of justice, equal rights, and love.

What would you say to female, minority, and LGBT artists who have neither voices nor places to exhibit their work?

Technology can serve as a great tool to showcase your work. I also hope as we progress to utilise such technologies whether than be social media or our website, to promote wider groups of artists who are unheard.

What can we expect from Amar Gallery? Another exhibition as powerful as this one?

The next exhibition in September will be of artist Lawrence Calcagno, an overlooked LGBT+ artist who was the student of Mark Rothko, the companion of Beauford Delaney, and a supporter of artists of colour during the civil rights movement. So yes, very powerful, in my opinion.