Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

[Boy with a Cat]

Dora Maar French
1934
Not on view
From 1930 to 1934 Maar turned her camera to the inhabitants of the streets of Paris and London, blending documentary and Surrealist modes. Her photographs often focus on socially marginal figures such as the poor or disabled, revealing her own political engagement. In this striking image, an adolescent with rumpled hair protectively grasps a cat to his chest, his gaze challenging Maar’s camera. The boy’s expression and posture imbue this chance encounter—and the composition—with an arresting psychological dimension.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: [Boy with a Cat]
  • Artist: Dora Maar (French, Paris 1907–1997 Paris)
  • Date: 1934
  • Medium: Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions: Image: 16 5/16 × 11 7/16 in. (41.4 × 29 cm)
    Mat: 27 9/16 in. × 25 in. (70 × 63.5 cm)
    Frame: 20 × 24 in. (50.8 × 61 cm)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Twentieth-Century Photography Fund and Kurtz Family Foundation Gift, 2015
  • Object Number: 2015.40
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

More Artwork
Père Ubu, Dora Maar French, Gelatin silver print
Père Ubu
Dora Maar
1936
Saint Peter's Seen From the Pincio, Rome, Henri-Joseph Harpignies French, Pen and black ink, brush, gray and blue-gray washes
Saint Peter's Seen From the Pincio, Rome
Henri-Joseph Harpignies
1856
[The Great Wave, Sète], Gustave Le Gray French, Albumen silver print from glass negative
[The Great Wave, Sète]
Gustave Le Gray
1857
Glass Horn, Glass, French
Glass Horn
French
19th century
The Big White Cloud, Lake George, Edward J. Steichen American, born Luxembourg, Direct carbon print
The Big White Cloud, Lake George
Edward J. Steichen
1903, printed 1904

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.