7 July 2026

My Mate Claude: Claude Cahun, Pride, Identity and the Power of Being Seen

Not Claude the generative AI tool but Claude Cahun, the Surrealist artist, writer, photographer and lifelong challenger of fixed identity.

By Naomi Korn, CEO

I first encountered the artist and photographer Claude Cahun (1894-1954) in 1999, whilst clearing copyright for an exhibition catalogue of Surrealist and Dada artists. Claude Cahun’s work questions identity and particularly gender: her work intrigued me. She famously wrote in Aveux non avenus – Disavowals, “Masculine? Feminine? It depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me.” 

Claude lived with her female partner, Marcel Moore, born Suzanne Malherbe, who was her collaborator and creative companion. They moved to the island of Jersey and became active in the resistance against the Nazis. Their love story captivated me.

I could not find any rights holders to seek permission to reproduce her work in our exhibition catalogue despite diligent searches. The possibility that her work would not be seen because we had no-one to ask to reproduce it, has contributed to my fascination with orphan works.

Claude Cahun was born Lucy Renée Mathilde Schwob in Nantes, France, in 1894, with Jewish heritage on her father’s side. She later adopted the name Claude Cahun, a deliberately ambiguous name that helped free her from the expectations attached to gender, family and social convention. Marcel Moore, born Suzanne Malherbe, was Cahun’s partner, collaborator and creative companion. The two met as teenagers in Nantes and went on to build a lifelong artistic and personal partnership.

Together, Claude and Marcel moved through the avant-garde worlds of Paris before settling in Jersey in 1937. When German forces occupied the island during the Second World War, they embarked upon their own resistance campaign. Using an illegal radio to follow BBC broadcasts, they created anti-Nazi notes and leaflets, often written as if from a disillusioned German soldier, and left them where occupying troops might find them. They were arrested in 1944, sentenced to death, and survived imprisonment until Jersey’s liberation in May 1945.

Claude Cahun’s work speaks powerfully to Pride because it reminds us that identity is not always neat or singular or easily definable. Her art surfaces the complexity of the self: whereby gender, sexuality, Jewish heritage, resistance to fascism, creative partnership and political courage all overlap. This is why an intersectional reading of her work is so important. She was not only an artist exploring gender presentation; she was also someone whose Jewish background, queer relationship, anti-fascist politics and refusal of conformity placed her life and work within multiple histories of risk, erasure and resistance.

For me, this is also where Claude’s and Marcel’s legacy connects so strongly with the values of Naomi Korn Associates. As a lesbian-led organisation, we understand that visibility matters: not as a token gesture, but as part of a wider commitment to equity, inclusion and the surfacing of identities.

Pride is a moment for celebration, but it is also a moment for remembering, learning and acting. Claude and Marcel’s story reminds us that queer lives have always shaped art, culture and political resistance, even when institutions and histories have failed to recognise them fully.

Proud to support queer rights

At Naomi Korn Associates, we are proud to support queer rights and to stand with LGBTQI+ communities. Claude and Marcel’s story offers a powerful reminder that the right to define ourselves, to be visible on our own terms, and to resist oppressive systems is lived, embodied and sometimes fought for at great personal cost.

So, this Pride Month, I am thinking again about my first encounter with Claude in 1999 and about how artists like her continue to help us see differently. How the decisions we make personally and professionally matter. Small choices can have a big impact. If we choose not to publish works because we can’t find rights holders, we can perpetuate the silencing of underrepresented and minoritised voices. If we are complacent and choose not to speak out for queer rights, we become complicit in the erosion of human rights.

References

• Blumberg, Naomi, and Encyclopaedia Britannica Editors. “Claude Cahun.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Updated 1 June 2026. Accessed 1 July 2026. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Claude-Cahun
• Tate. “Claude Cahun 1894–1954.” Tate Artists. Accessed 1 July 2026. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/claude-cahun-10611
• Jersey Heritage. “Claude Cahun and Jersey.” Jersey Heritage. Accessed 1 July 2026. https://www.jerseyheritage.org/history/claude-cahun-and-jersey/
• Jersey Heritage. “Resistance Notes.” Jersey Heritage: Object in Focus. Accessed 1 July 2026. https://www.jerseyheritage.org/research-and-collections/object-in-focus/resistance-notes/
• National Portrait Gallery. “Claude Cahun: Freedom Fighter.” National Portrait Gallery Stories. Published 9 May 2017. Accessed 1 July 2026. https://www.npg.org.uk/blog/claude-cahun-freedom-fighter
• The Museum of Modern Art. “Claude Cahun (Lucy Schwob).” MoMA Artists. Accessed 1 July 2026. https://www.moma.org/artists/8195-claude-cahun-lucy-schwob
• White, Katie. “Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore: Surrealist Lovers Who Defied the German Occupation.” Artnet News. Published 13 March 2026. Accessed 1 July 2026. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/claude-cahun-and-marcel-moore-surrealist-lovers-who-defied-the-german-occupation-2753158