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Man Ray (American, 1890–1976)
LOT ID: 65210
Self-Portrait, 1933

Silver Print
11.2 х 9 in. cm.
Signed, in pencil on recto; inscribed in pencil verso: p. 101 / tal quale [struck through] / Base m/m 235
Lot description
Man Ray, Self-Portrait, 1933. Solarized gelatin silver print, 11.2 x 9 inches, 28.4 x 23 cm. Vintage. Signed in pencil recto.

Masked in sunlight and shadow, this striking self-portrait confronts the viewer with the direct gaze of the photographer.

Condition: print on creamy paper, in very good to excellent condition, with only a very slight softening of the lower left corner edge, and even slighter softening of the upper right corner.

Man Ray
(1890-1976)
photographer; painter; filmmaker

Born in Philadelphia, Emmanuel Radnitsky grew up in New Jersey and became a commercial artist in New York in the 1910s. He began to sign his name Man Ray in 1912, although his family did not change its surname to Ray until the 1920s. He initially taught himself photography in order to reproduce his own works of art, which included paintings and mixed media. In 1921 he moved to Paris and set up a photography studio to support himself. There he began to make photograms, which he called "Rayographs." In the 1920s, he also began making moving pictures. Man Ray's four completed films--Return to Reason, Emak Bakia, Starfish, and Mystery of the Chateau--were all highly creative, non-narrative explorations of the possibilities of the medium.

Shortly before World War II, Man Ray returned to the United States and settled in Los Angeles from 1940 until 1951. He was disappointed that he was recognized only for his photography in America and not for the filmmaking, painting, sculpture, and other media in which he worked. In 1951 Man Ray returned to Paris. He concentrated primarily on painting until his death in 1976.[getty.edu]


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Sales Results for Comparable Works

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  • Man Ray

    Self-portrait with studio camera
    gelatin silver print
    (H 9.8, W 8.0) in.
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    Sold for: US$43,240
    Saturday, May 17, 2008
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  • Man Ray

    Self-portrait with studio camera
    gelatin silver print
    (H 9.0, W 7.0) in.
    (22.8 x 17.8) cm.
    Sold for: US$157,000
    Wednesday, October 17, 2007
    Christie's New York
    Lot 00104
  • Man Ray

    Self-portrait with cello
    Gelatin Silver Print
    (H 4.4, W 3.1, D 0) in.
    (11.1 x 8 x 0) cm.
    Sold for: US$41,400
    Thursday, April 29, 1999
    Christie's New York
    Lot 00234
  • Man Ray

    Self-portrait with studio camera
    Gelatin Silver Print
    (H 9.0, W 7.0, D 0) in.
    (22.8 x 17.8 x 0) cm.
    Sold for: US$63,000
    Monday, October 05, 1998
    Christie's New York
    Lot 00109

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