Man RayAmerican, 1890–1976Peggy Guggenheim
May one see it?
Unknown
Rijksmuseum
Amsterdam, Netherlands
The owner is known; whether it is on view today is not.
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Man Ray was a photographer with two souls. While he would have preferred to devote himself exclusively to painting, he derived his primary source of income from portrait, fashion, and advertising photography. Alongside this ‘commercial’ work he conducted all kinds of artistic experiments in the darkroom. In 1924 he took this elegant photograph of Peggy Guggenheim wearing a gown by Paul Poiret. While the cast shadow is a modern element, the soft-focus in contrast is traditional, if not old-fashioned.
Rijksmuseum
Particulars
- Accession number
- RP-F-F17662
Meanwhile, in the life of Man Ray
The whole life1920s
A photography studio: portraits of Paris bohemia
Convinced that he cannot make a living from his art alone, Ray buys a camera and opens a studio; he creates a series of famous photographic portraits of Erik Satie, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein and Jean Cocteau.
1920s
Discovering Eugène Atget with Berenice Abbott
Together with his assistant Berenice Abbott, Ray discovers the photography of Eugène Atget, bringing it to the attention of the Surrealists and a wider public.
1922
The album “Champs délicieux” with Tristan Tzara
Ray and Tristan Tzara publish in Paris the album of photographs Champs délicieux.
1924
René Clair's “Entr'acte” and Léger's “Ballet Mécanique”
In René Clair's film Entr'acte Ray appears in a brief scene playing chess with Duchamp; the same year, 1924, he personally operates the camera on Fernand Léger's Ballet Mécanique.
1925
The first Surrealist exhibition at the Galerie Pierre
Ray is represented in the first Surrealist exhibition at the Galerie Pierre in Paris, alongside Jean Arp, Giorgio de Chirico, Max Ernst, Georges Malkine, André Masson, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso.
