# Maurice Tabard artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/maurice-tabard/
Profile generated: 2026-05-31T06:01:39.098Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1897-07-19
- Death date: 1984-02-23
- Nationality: French
- Movements: Surrealism
- Common media: Photography (gelatin silver prints, solarized prints, photomontage)

## About Maurice Tabard

Maurice Tabard (1897–1984) was a French photographer recognized as one of the leading figures of Surrealist photography. Active from 1918 through the mid-1960s, he became known for experimental techniques including solarization, double exposure, superimposition, and photomontage — methods he explored alongside his close associate Man Ray. Tabard's work bridges fine-art and commercial photography; he produced Surrealist compositions for galleries and publications while also maintaining a significant career in fashion and advertising photography. His photographs are held in major institutional collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Collectors encounter Tabard's prints across both the fine-art photography market and the broader modern-prints category, where his Surrealist-era works command the greatest attention.

## Common works and media

Collectors and appraisers may encounter Tabard's gelatin silver prints — including solarized portraits, photomontages, and double-exposure compositions — as well as fashion and advertising photographs published in magazines. Surrealist nudes, still lifes, and experimental darkroom prints from the interwar period are the most frequently traded work type. Later fashion commissions and editorial photographs also appear, typically at lower price points than his Surrealist fine-art prints.

## Market and appraisal context

Maurice Tabard's auction presence centers on vintage gelatin silver prints, especially those employing solarization and photomontage from his 1920s–1930s Surrealist period. Value depends heavily on technique, print vintage (period vs. later), edition or uniqueness, condition, and provenance. His institutional representation at MoMA and inclusion in major Surrealist photography surveys lend authority to attribution. Collectors should note that Tabard's extensive commercial and fashion work can surface at auction alongside his fine-art prints, and works without clear catalogue references may require expert authentication.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from museum records, library authority files, and biographical sources with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Maurice Tabard, identity data draws on MoMA, Getty ULAN, VIAF, RKD, and Wikidata sources; market context is supplemented by auction-house and database signals where accessible.

## Sources

- RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/375553
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/5769
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/71407972/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500036994
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3143070
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Tabard
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n86841939