Man Ray
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Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. He was a significant contributor to the
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...
and
Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
movements, although his ties to each were informal. He produced major works in a variety of
media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
but considered himself a painter above all. He was best known for his pioneering photography, and was a renowned
fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
and portrait photographer. He is also noted for his work with
photogram A photogram is a photographic image made without a camera by placing objects directly onto the surface of a light-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light. The usual result is a negative shadow image th ...
s, which he called "rayographs" in reference to himself.


Biography


Background and early life

During his career, Man Ray allowed few details of his early life or family background to be known to the public. He even refused to acknowledge that he ever had a name other than Man Ray. Baldwin, Neil. ''Man Ray: American Artist''; Da Capo Press; (1988, 2000) Man Ray's birth name was Emmanuel Radnitzky. He was born in
South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, on August 27, 1890. He was the eldest child of Russian Jewish immigrants Melach "Max" Radnitzky, a tailor, and Manya "Minnie" Radnitzky (née Lourie or Luria).1900 United States Federal Census He had a brother, Sam, and two sisters, Dorothy "Dora" and Essie (or Elsie), the youngest born in 1897 shortly after they settled at 372 Debevoise St. in the Williamsburg neighborhood of
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
. In early 1912, the Radnitzky family changed their surname to Ray. Man Ray's brother chose the surname in reaction to the
ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
discrimination and
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
prevalent at the time. Emmanuel, who was called "Manny" as a nickname, changed his first name to Man and gradually began to use Man Ray as his name.
Francis Naumann Francis M. Naumann (born April 25, 1948) is a scholar, curator, and art dealer, specializing in the art of the Dada movement and the Surrealist periods. He has an MFA degree in painting from the Art Institute of Chicago (1973) and a PhD in art hist ...
, ''Conversion to Modernism: The Early Work of Man Ray''. Rutgers University Press: (2003).
Man Ray's father worked in a garment factory and ran a small tailoring business out of the family home. He enlisted his children to assist him from an early age. Man Ray's mother enjoyed designing the family's clothes and inventing
patchwork Patchwork or "pieced work" is a form of needlework that involves sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design. The larger design is usually based on repeating patterns built up with different fabric shapes (which can be different colors) ...
items from scraps of fabric. Man Ray wished to disassociate himself from his family background, but their tailoring left an enduring mark on his art.
Mannequin A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. Pr ...
s, flat irons, sewing machines, needles, pins, threads, swatches of fabric, and other items related to tailoring appear in almost every
medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...
of his work.Milly Heyd; "Man Ray/Emmanuel Rudnitsky: Who is Behind the Enigma of Isidore Ducasse?"; in ''Complex Identities: Jewish Consciousness and Modern Art''; ed. Matthew Baigell and Milly Heyd; Rutgers University Press; (2001). Art historians have noted similarities between Ray's collage and painting techniques and styles used for tailoring. Mason Klein, curator of a Man Ray exhibition at the
Jewish Museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. List of Jewish museums Notable Jewish museums include: *Albania ** Solomon Museum, Berat *Australia ** Jewish Muse ...
in New York, ''Alias Man Ray: The Art of Reinvention'', suggests that the artist may have been "the first Jewish avant-garde artist." Man Ray was the uncle of the photographer Naomi Savage, who learned some of Ray's techniques and incorporated them into her own work.


First artistic endeavors

Man Ray displayed artistic and mechanical abilities during childhood. His education at Brooklyn's Boys' High School from 1904 to 1909 provided him with solid grounding in drafting and other basic art techniques. While he attended school, he educated himself with frequent visits to the local art museums, where he studied the works of the
Old Master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...
s. After his graduation, Ray was offered a scholarship to study architecture but chose to pursue a career as an artist. Man Ray's parents were disappointed by their son's decision to pursue art, but they agreed to rearrange the family's modest living quarters so that Ray's room could be his
studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
. The artist remained in the family home over the next four years. During this time, he worked steadily towards becoming a professional painter. Man Ray earned money as a
commercial art Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of promo ...
ist and was a
technical illustrator Technical Illustration is illustration meant to visually communicate information of a technology, technical nature. Technical illustrations can be components of technical drawings or diagrams. Technical illustrations in general aim "to generate ex ...
at several
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
companies. The surviving examples of his work from this period indicate that he attempted mostly paintings and drawings in 19th-century styles. He was already an avid admirer of contemporary avant-garde art, such as the European modernists he saw at
Alfred Stieglitz Alfred Stieglitz (January 1, 1864 – July 13, 1946) was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his 50-year career in making photography an accepted art form. In addition to his photography, Stieglitz was kno ...
's "
291 __NOTOC__ Year 291 ( CCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tiberianus and Dio (or, less frequently, year 1044 ''A ...
" gallery and works by the
Ashcan School The Ashcan School, also called the Ash Can School, was an artistic movement in the United States during the late 19th-early 20th century that produced works portraying scenes of daily life in New York, often in the city's poorer neighborhoods. ...
. However, with a few exceptions, he was not yet able to integrate these trends into his own work. The art classes he sporadically attended, including stints at the
National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...
and the
Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school at American Fine Arts Society, 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists ...
, were of little apparent benefit to him. When he enrolled in the
Ferrer School The Ferrer Center and Stelton Colony were an anarchist social center and colony, respectively, organized to honor the memory of anarchist pedagogue Francisco Ferrer and to build a school based on his model in the United States. In the widesprea ...
in the autumn of 1912, he began a period of intense and rapid artistic development.


New York

While living in New York City, Man Ray was influenced by the avant-garde practices of European contemporary artists he was introduced to at the 1913
Armory Show The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of ...
and in visits to Alfred Stieglitz's "291" art gallery. His early paintings display facets of
cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...
. After befriending
Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...
, who was interested in showing movement in static paintings, his works began to depict movement of the figures. An example is the repetitive positions of the dancer's skirts in ''The Rope Dancer Accompanies Herself with Her Shadows'' (1916). In 1915, Man Ray had his first solo show of paintings and drawings after he had taken up residence at an art colony in
Grantwood, New Jersey Grantwood is an unincorporated community straddling the boroughs of Cliffside Park and Ridgefield, just south of Fort Lee, in eastern Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. Toponymy Grantwood Heights Land Company was incorporated on Febru ...
, across the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
from New York City. His first proto-Dada object, an assemblage titled ''Self-Portrait'', was exhibited the following year. He produced his first significant photographs in 1918, after initially picking up the camera to document his own artwork. Man Ray abandoned conventional painting to involve himself with
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...
, a radical anti-art movement. He published two Dadaist periodicals, that each only had one issue, ''The Ridgefield Gazook'' (1915) and ''TNT'' (1919), the latter co-edited by
Adolf Wolff Adolf Wolff (1883–1944) was a visual artist, anarchist, and socialist based in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in t ...
and Mitchell Dawson. He started making objects and developed unique mechanical and photographic methods of making images. For the 1918 version of ''Rope Dancer'', he combined a spray-gun technique with a pen drawing. Like Duchamp, he worked with readymades—ordinary objects that are selected and modified. His ''
Gift A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or anything in return. An item is not a gift if that item is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation ...
'' readymade (1921) is a
flatiron Flatiron or flat iron may refer to various things, often in the shape of a wedge: Objects *Clothes iron *Hair iron Places *Flatiron Building, New York City, at the intersection of 5th & Broadway **Flatiron District, New York City, named after ...
with metal tacks attached to the bottom, and ''Enigma of Isidore Ducasse'' is an unseen object (a sewing machine) wrapped in cloth and tied with cord. ''Aerograph'' (1919), another work from this period, was done with airbrush on glass. In 1920, Man Ray helped Duchamp make the '' Rotary Glass Plates'', one of the earliest examples of kinetic art. It was composed of glass plates turned by a motor. That same year, Man Ray,
Katherine Dreier Katherine Sophie Dreier (September 10, 1877 – March 29, 1952) was an American artist, lecturer, patron of the arts, and social reformer. Dreier developed an interest in art at a young age and was afforded the opportunity of studying art in the ...
, and Duchamp founded the
Société Anonyme The abbreviation S.A. or SA designates a type of limited company in certain countries, most of which have a Romance language as their official language and employ civil law. Originally, shareholders could be literally anonymous and collect div ...
, an itinerant collection that was the first museum of
modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...
in the U.S. In 1941 the collection was donated to
Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...
. Man Ray teamed up with Duchamp to publish one issue of ''
New York Dada New York Dada was a regionalized extension of Dada, an artistic and cultural movement between the years 1913 and 1923. Usually considered to have been instigated by Marcel Duchamp's ''Fountain'' exhibited at the first exhibition of the Society of I ...
'' in 1920. For Man Ray, Dada's experimentation was no match for the wild and chaotic streets of New York. He wrote that "Dada cannot live in New York. All New York is dada, and will not tolerate a rival." In 1913, Man Ray met his first wife, the Belgian poet Adon Lacroix (Donna Lecoeur) (1887–1975), in New York. They married in 1914, separated in 1919, and formally divorced in 1937.


Paris

In July 1921, Man Ray went to live and work in Paris, France. He soon settled in the
Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has bee ...
quarter favored by many artists. His accidental rediscovery of the cameraless
photogram A photogram is a photographic image made without a camera by placing objects directly onto the surface of a light-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light. The usual result is a negative shadow image th ...
, which he called "rayographs", resulted in mysterious images hailed by
Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, comp ...
as "pure Dada creations". Shortly after arriving in Paris, he met and fell in love with Kiki de Montparnasse (
Alice Prin Alice Ernestine Prin (2 October 1901 – 29 April 1953), nicknamed the ''Queen of Montparnasse'' and often known as ''Kiki de Montparnasse'', was a French model, chanteuse, actress, memoirist and painter during the Jazz Age. She flourished ...
), an artists' model and celebrated character in Paris bohemian circles. Kiki was Man Ray's companion for most of the 1920s. She became the subject of some of his most famous photographic images, and starred in his
experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...
s ''
Le Retour à la Raison ''Le Retour à la Raison'' (Return to Reason) is a 1923 film directed by Man Ray. It consists of animated textures, Rayographs and the torso of Kiki of Montparnasse (Alice Prin). See also *Cinéma Pur Non-narrative film is an aesthetic of cin ...
'' and '' L'Étoile de mer''. In 1929, he began a love affair with the Surrealist photographer
Lee Miller Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, Lady Penrose (April 23, 1907 – July 21, 1977), was an American photographer and photojournalist. She was a fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris, where she became a fashion and fine art ...
.Giovanni, Janine D. "What's a Girl to Do When a Battle Lands in Her Lap?" ''New York Times Magazine'' Winter 2007: 68-71. ProQuest. 2 March 2017 She was also his
photographic assistant A photographic assistant, also known as a photo assistant, photographer's assistant, or also second shooter, is "an individual with both photographic and related skills who assists a professional photographer". The work of an assistant photographe ...
and, together, they reinvented the photographic technique of
solarization The Sabatier effect, also known as pseudo-solarization (or pseudo-solarisation) and erroneously referred to as the Sabattier effect, is a phenomenon in photography in which the image recorded on a negative or on a photographic print is wholly o ...
. Miller left him in 1932. From late 1934 until August 1940, Man Ray was in a relationship with . She was a
Guadeloupean Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Ba ...
dancer and model and she appears in many of his photographs. When Ray fled the Nazi occupation in France, Adrienne chose to stay behind to care for her family. Unlike the artist's other significant muses, until 2022, Fidelin had largely been written out of his life story. Man Ray was a pioneering photographer in Paris for two decades between the wars. Significant members of the art world, such as
Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
,
Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, comp ...
,
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
,
Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...
,
Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...
,
Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...
,
Peggy Guggenheim Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim ( ; August 26, 1898 – December 23, 1979) was an American art collector, bohemian and socialite. Born to the wealthy New York City Guggenheim family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with t ...
,
Bridget Bate Tichenor Bridget Bate Tichenor (born Bridget Pamela Arkwright Bate) (November 22, 1917 – October 20, 1990) was a British surrealist painter of fantastic art in the school of magic realism and a fashion editor. Born in Paris, she later embraced Mexico a ...
,
Luisa Casati Luisa, Marchesa Casati Stampa di Soncino (born Luisa Adele Rosa Maria Amman; 23 January 1881 – 1 June 1957), was an Italian heiress, muse, and patroness of the arts in early 20th-century Europe. Early life Luisa Adele Rosa Maria Amman was born ...
, and
Antonin Artaud Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...
, posed for his camera. Man Ray's international fame as a portrait photographer is reflected in a series of photographs of
Maharajah Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...
Yashwant Rao Holkar II Maharajadhiraj Raj Rajeshwar Sawai Shri Sir Yeshwant Rao II Holkar XIV Bahadur (6 September 1908 – 5 December 1961) was the Maharaja of Indore (Holkar State, now in present-day Madhya Pradesh) belonging to the Holkar dynasty of the Marathas. ...
and his wife Sanyogita Devi from their visit to Europe in 1927. In the winter of 1933, surrealist artist
Méret Oppenheim Meret (or Méret) Elisabeth Oppenheim (6 October 1913 – 15 November 1985) was a German-born Swiss Surrealist artist and photographer. Early life Meret Oppenheim was born on 6 October 1913 in Berlin. She was named after Meretlein, a wild c ...
, known for her fur-covered teacup, posed nude for Man Ray in a well-known series of photographs depicting her standing next to a
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...
. His practice of photographing African objects in the Paris collections of
Paul Guillaume Paul Guillaume (1891 in Paris – 1934 in Paris) was a French art dealer. Dealer of Chaïm Soutine and Amedeo Modigliani, he was one of the first to organize African art exhibitions. He also bought and sold many works from cutting-edge artists of ...
and
Charles Ratton Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
and others led to several iconic photographs, including ''Noire et blanche''. As Man Ray scholar Wendy A. Grossman has illustrated, "no one was more influential in translating the vogue for African art into a Modernist photographic aesthetic than Man Ray." Man Ray was represented in the first
Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
exhibition with
Jean Arp Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter, and poet. He was known as a Dadaist and an abstract artist. Early life Arp was born in Straßburg (now Stras ...
,
Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealism ...
,
André Masson André-Aimé-René Masson (4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist. Biography Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to Brussel ...
,
Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona i ...
, and
Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
at the Galerie Pierre in Paris in 1925. Important works from this time were a metronome with an eye, originally titled ''
Object to Be Destroyed Object may refer to: General meanings * Object (philosophy), a thing, being, or concept ** Object (abstract), an object which does not exist at any particular time or place ** Physical object, an identifiable collection of matter * Goal, an ...
'', and the ''Violon d'Ingres'', a stunning photograph of Kiki de Montparnasse, styled after the painter/musician
Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( , ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...
. ''Violon d'Ingres'' is a popular example of how Man Ray could juxtapose disparate elements in his photography to generate meaning. Man Ray directed a number of influential
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
short films, known as ''
Cinéma Pur Non-narrative film is an aesthetic of cinematic film that does not narrate, or relate "an event, whether real or imaginary". It is usually a form of art film or experimental film, not made for mass entertainment. Narrative film is the dominant ae ...
''. He directed ''
Le Retour à la Raison ''Le Retour à la Raison'' (Return to Reason) is a 1923 film directed by Man Ray. It consists of animated textures, Rayographs and the torso of Kiki of Montparnasse (Alice Prin). See also *Cinéma Pur Non-narrative film is an aesthetic of cin ...
'' (2 mins, 1923); ''
Emak-Bakia ''Emak-Bakia'' (Basque for ''Leave me alone'') is a 1926 film directed by Man Ray. Subtitled as a ''cinépoéme'', it features many techniques Man Ray used in his still photography (for which he is better known), including Rayographs, double exp ...
'' (16 mins, 1926); '' L'Étoile de Mer'' (15 mins, 1928); and ''
Les Mystères du Château de Dé ''Les Mystères du Château de Dé'' (The Mysteries of the Chateau of Dice) is a 1929 film directed by Man Ray. It depicts a pair of travellers setting off from Paris and travelling to the Villa Noailles in Hyères. At 27 minutes the film was the ...
'' (27 mins, 1929). Man Ray also assisted Marcel Duchamp with the cinematography of his film ''
Anemic Cinema ''Anemic Cinema'' or ''Anémic Cinéma'' is a 1926 Dada/surrealist experimental film by Marcel Duchamp (credited to his alter ego, Rrose Sélavy), made in collaboration with Man Ray and Marc Allégret. The seven-minute film is composed of alt ...
'' (1926), and Ray personally manned the camera on
Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...
's ''
Ballet Mécanique ''Ballet Mécanique'' (1923–24) is a Dadaist post-Cubist art film conceived, written, and co-directed by the artist Fernand Léger in collaboration with the filmmaker Dudley Murphy (with cinematographic input from Man Ray).Chilvers, Ian & Glav ...
'' (1924). In
René Clair René Clair (11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. He wen ...
's film ''
Entr'acte (or ', ;Since 1932–35 the French Academy recommends this spelling, with no apostrophe, so historical, ceremonial and traditional uses (such as the 1924 René Clair film title) are still spelled ''Entr'acte''. German: ' and ', Italian: ''inte ...
'' (1924), Man Ray appeared in a brief scene playing
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
with Duchamp. Duchamp, Man Ray, and
Francis Picabia Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and Pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism ...
were all friends and collaborators, connected by their experimental, entertaining, and innovative art.


Hollywood

The
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
forced Man Ray to return from Paris to the United States. He lived in Los Angeles from 1940 to 1951 where he focused his creative energy on painting. A few days after arriving in Los Angeles, he met
Juliet Browner Juliet Man Ray (née Browner; 1911 – January 17, 1991) was an American dancer and model, who became the wife and muse of the artist Man Ray. Early life She was born Juliet Browner, the daughter of Henry Browner, who had emigrated from Romania ...
, a first-generation
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
of
Romanian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after ...
lineage. She was a trained dancer who studied dance with
Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...
, and an experienced artists' model. They married in 1946 in a double wedding with their friends
Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealism ...
and
Dorothea Tanning Dorothea Margaret Tanning (25 August 1910 – 31 January 2012) was an American painter, printmaker, sculptor, writer, and poet. Her early work was influenced by Surrealism. Biography Dorothea Tanning was born and raised in Galesburg, Illin ...
. In 1948 Ray had a solo exhibition at the Copley Galleries in Beverly Hills, which brought together a wide array of work and featured his newly painted canvases of the ''Shakespearean Equations'' series.


Later life

Man Ray returned to Paris in 1951, and settled with Juliet into a studio at 2 bis rue Férou near the Luxembourg Gardens in St. Germain-des-Prés, where he continued his creative practice across mediums. During the last quarter century of his life, he returned to a number of his iconic earlier works, recreating them in new form. He also directed the production of limited-edition replicas of several of his objects, working first with Marcel Zerbib and later
Arturo Schwarz Arturo Umberto Samuele Schwarz (2 February 1924 – 23 June 2021) was an Italian scholar, art historian, poet, writer, lecturer, art consultant and curator of international art exhibitions. He lived in Milan, where he amassed a large collection o ...
. In 1963, he published his autobiography, ''Self-Portrait'' (republished in 1999). Ray continued to work on new paintings, photographs, collages and art objects till his death. He died in Paris on November 18, 1976, from a lung infection. He was interred in the
Cimetière du Montparnasse Montparnasse Cemetery (french: link=no, Cimetière du Montparnasse) is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery ...
in Paris. His epitaph reads "Unconcerned, but not indifferent". When Juliet died in 1991, she was interred in the same tomb. Her epitaph reads "Together again". Juliet organized a trust for Ray's work and donated much of his work to museums. Her plans to restore the studio as a public museum proved too expensive; such was the structure's disrepair. Most of the contents were stored at the
Pompidou Centre The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...
.


Innovations

Man Ray was responsible for several technical innovations in modern art, filmmaking, and photography. These included his use of
photogram A photogram is a photographic image made without a camera by placing objects directly onto the surface of a light-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light. The usual result is a negative shadow image th ...
s to produce surrealist images he called "Rayograms", and
solarization The Sabatier effect, also known as pseudo-solarization (or pseudo-solarisation) and erroneously referred to as the Sabattier effect, is a phenomenon in photography in which the image recorded on a negative or on a photographic print is wholly o ...
(rediscovered with Lee Miller). His 1923 experimental film ''Le Retour à la raison'' was the first 'cine-rayograph', a motion picture made without the use of a camera. Ray's 1935 ''Space Writing (Self-Portrait)'' was the first
light painting Light painting, painting with light, light drawing, or light art performance photography are terms that describe photographic techniques of moving a light source while taking a long-exposure photograph, either to illuminate a subject or space, o ...
, predating Picasso's 1949 light paintings, photographed by
Gjon Mili Gjon Mili (November 28, 1904 – February 14, 1984) was an Albanian photographer from Korçë who developed his profession in America, best known for his work published in ''Life'', in which he photographed artists such as Pablo Picasso. Biogr ...
, by fourteen years.


Accolades

In 1974, Man Ray received the
Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...
's Progress Medal and Honorary Fellowship "in recognition of any invention, research, publication or other contribution which has resulted in an important advance in the scientific or technological development of photography or imaging in the widest sense." In 1999, ''
ARTnews ''ARTnews'' is an American visual-arts magazine, based in New York City. It covers art from ancient to contemporary times. ARTnews is the oldest and most widely distributed art magazine in the world. It has a readership of 180,000 in 124 countri ...
'' magazine named Man Ray one of the 25 most influential artists of the 20th century. The publication cited his groundbreaking photography, "his explorations of film, painting, sculpture,
collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...
, assemblage and prototypes of what would eventually be called
performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
and
conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...
." ''ARTnews'' further stated that "Man Ray offered artists in all media an example of a creative intelligence that, in its 'pursuit of pleasure and liberty', unlocked every door it came to and walked freely where it would."Coleman, A. D. "Willful Provocateur"; ''ARTnews'', May 1999.


Art market

Man Ray's ''
Le Violon d'Ingres ''Le Violon d'Ingres'' (French for ''Ingres's Violin'') is a black-and-white photograph created by American visual artist Man Ray in 1924. It is one of his best-known photographs and of surrealist photography. The picture was first published in th ...
'' (1924), a famed photograph depicting a nude Kiki de Montparnasse's back overlaid with a violin's f-holes, sold for $12.4 million on May 14, 2022, setting a new world record as the most expensive photograph ever to be sold at auction. The sale came after a drawn-out bidding period that lasted nearly ten minutes during
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
New York's auction dedicated to Surrealist art. On 9 November 2017 Man Ray's '' Noire et Blanche'' (1926), formerly in the collection of Jacques Doucet, was purchased at Christie's Paris for €2,688,750 (US$3,120,658), becoming (at that time) the 14th most expensive photograph to ever sell at auction. This was a record not only for Man Ray's work in the photographic medium but also for the sale at auction of any vintage photograph. Only two other works by Man Ray in any medium have commanded more at auction than the price captured by the 2017 sale of ''Noire et blanche.'' His 1916 canvas ''Promenade'' sold for $5,877,000 on 6 November 2013, at the Sotheby's New York Impressionist & Modern Art Sale. And on 13 November 2017, his assemblage titled ''Catherine Barometer'' (1920), sold for $3,252,500 at
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
in New York.


Legacy

''Self-Portrait'' was republished in 1999. In March 2013, Man Ray's photograph '' Noire et Blanche'' (1926) was featured in the
US Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
's "Modern Art in America" series of stamps.


Selected publications

* Man Ray and Tristan Tzara (1922). ''Champs délicieux: album de photographies''. Paris: ociété générale d'imprimerie et d'édition * Man Ray (1926). ''Revolving doors, 1916–1917: 10 planches''. Paris: Éditions Surrealistes. * Man Ray (1934). ''Man Ray: photographs, 1920–1934, Paris''. Hartford, Connecticut: James Thrall Soby. * Éluard, Paul, and Man Ray (1935). ''Facile''. Paris: Éditions G.L.M. * Man Ray and André Breton (1937). ''La photographie n'est pas l'art''. Paris: Éditions G.L.M. * Man Ray and Paul Éluard (1937). ''Les mains libres: dessins''. Paris: Éditions Jeanne Bucher. * Man Ray (1948). ''Alphabet for adults''. Beverly Hills, California: Copley Galleries. * Man Ray (1963). ''Self portrait''. London: Andre Deutsch. * Man Ray and L. Fritz Gruber (1963). ''Portraits''. Gütersloh, Germany: Sigbert Mohn Verlag.


See also

* '' The Gift'', 1921 sculpture


References and sources


References


Sources

* Alexandrian, Sarane. ''Man Ray''; J. P. O'Hara; (1973). *Allan, Kenneth R. "Metamorphosis in ''391'': A Cryptographic Collaboration by Francis Picabia, Man Ray, and Erik Satie" in ''Art History'' 34, No. 1 (February 2011): 102–125. * Baldwin, Neil. ''Man Ray: American Artist''; Da Capo Press; (1988, 2000). *Coleman, A. D. "Willful Provocateur"; ''ARTnews'', May 1999. *Foresta, Merry, et al. ''Perpetual Motif: The Art of Man Ray''. Washington: National Museum of American Art; New York: Abbeville Press, 1988. *Grossman, Wendy A., Adina Kamien-Kazhdan, Edouard Sebline, and Andrew Strauss. ''Man Ray—Human Equations: A Journey From Mathematics to Shakespeare'';
Hatje Cantz Hatje Cantz Verlag (English: Hatje Cantz Publishing) is a German book publisher specialising in photography, art, architecture and design. It was established in 1945 by Gerd HatjeNaumann, Francis. ''Conversion to Modernism: The Early Work of Man Ray''; Rutgers University Press; (2003).


External links


Works by Man Ray, Official Licensing Archive
Searchable; over 1,000 photos
Man Ray Trust
*
"Man Ray Laid Bare"
from ''Tate Magazine''
Man Ray's Subtle Surrealistic Genius Women
* *

*

Research Library at the Getty Research Institute. Los Angeles
Man Ray
in the National Gallery of Australia's Kenneth Tyler collection *
Man Ray
at
The Jewish Museum The Jewish Museum is an art museum and repository of cultural artifacts, housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in the former Felix M. Warburg House, along Museum Mile on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. The first Jewish museum in the Unit ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Man Man Ray American contemporary painters 1890 births 1976 deaths Abstract painters Dada American autobiographers American cinematographers American experimental filmmakers American male screenwriters American surrealist artists Surrealist filmmakers American expatriates in France American people of Russian-Jewish descent Art Students League of New York alumni Artists from Philadelphia Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery Jewish American artists Jewish painters Jewish American writers People from Ridgefield, New Jersey Photographers from New York (state) American portrait photographers 20th-century American painters 20th-century American male artists American male painters 20th-century American photographers Boys High School (Brooklyn) alumni Film directors from New York City Film directors from New Jersey American male non-fiction writers Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Pennsylvania Screenwriters from New Jersey People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters American dadaist