Yvonne Chevalier French, 1899-1982

Yvonne Chevalier definitively abandons painting and drawing in 1929 and opens a photography studio the following year, which becomes very successful. In the 1930s, she creates numerous portraits (of Max Jacob, Paul Claudel, Colette, André Gide, among others) and becomes the official photographer of Georges Rouault. She also explores other genres, such as nudes, architecture, and still life. In 1936, she joins the group Le Rectangle, and later the Groupe des XV in 1946. She is featured in many exhibitions and publishes in magazines such as Arts et métiers graphiques, Photographie, and Photo-Illustration. She continues her photography career until 1970 and destroys many of her prints in 1980, two years before her death.