CLAUDE CAHUN (1894-1954)

The androgynous poet Claude Cahun, who was linked to the Surrealist movement, made this self-portrait with her face against a mirror to suggest the duality of her nature. She cropped the picture tighter for the enlargement she made for use in a window display (see figs.) to promote her 1930 book, Aveux non avenus. Most of Cahun's photographs exist only as contact prints, thus the present enlargement print is extremely rare.