A close look at Man Ray’s interwar portraiture, as well as the friendships between the photographer and his subjects: the international avant garde in Paris

Shortly after his arrival in Paris in July 1921, Man Ray (1890–1976) — the pseudonym of Emmanuel Radnitzky — embarked on a sustained campaign to document the city’s international avant-garde in a series of remarkable portraits that established his reputation as one of the leading photographers of his era. Man Ray’s subjects included cultural luminaries such as Berenice Abbott, André Breton, Jean Cocteau, Marcel Duchamp, Ernest Hemingway, Miriam Hopkins, Aldous Huxley, James Joyce, Lee Miller, Méret Oppenheim, Pablo Picasso, Alice Prin (Kiki de Montparnasse), Elsa Schiaparelli, Erik Satie, and Gertrude Stein. As this lavishly illustrated publication demonstrates, Man Ray’s portraits went beyond recording the mere outward appearance of the person depicted and aimed instead to capture the essence of his sitters as creative individuals, as well as the collective nature and character of Les Années folles (the crazy years) of Paris between the two world wars, when the city became famous the world over as a powerful and evocative symbol of artistic freedom and daring experimentation.

About the Author:

Michael R. Taylor is chief curator and deputy director for art and education at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond.

Lee Miller not only Man Ray’s muse, but above all a professional in her own right

Model, photographer, muse, the first female war correspondent to report the horrors of the concentration camps liberated by American troops, and 20th-century icon. Lee Miller was all this and much more. She went through life with passion and determination and life repaid her with love and friends, but also with pain and posthumous, or at least tardy, acknowledgement.

Through approximately 140 photographs by Lee Miller and Man Ray, some objects d’art, and video documents loaned by Lee Miller Archives and Fondazi one Marconi, this book intends to do justice to this woman as beautiful as she was clever and talented, taking her out of Man Ray’s overpowering shadow. It will reveal a deep but complicated relationship more objectively (Man Ray was first her teacher, then lover, and in the end friend), and document the effect they both had on each other and how it inspired their work.

Published on the occasion of the exhibition in Venice, the volume features texts by the curator, Ami Bouhassane (Miller’s grand-daughter), and Anthony Pen rose (Miller’s son). Moreover it includes portraits by Man Ray of friends and important protagonists of the period (Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso, Giorgio de Chirico, Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dalí), as well as surrealist shots of Lee Miller in which she seeks to investigate and reveal her soul and torments.

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The exhibition offers a portrait of Surrealism through two of its greatest exponents, with more than 100 photographs, art works and new relevant documentation.

In 1929, Elizabeth “Lee” Miller, a young American model often seen in Vogue magazine, arrived in Paris with the intention of becoming a photographer. Uninvited and with no prior introduction, she presented herself at the studio of Man Ray, a noted Surrealist artist and photographer specializing in portraits of contemporary society, insisting that she become his apprentice. The encounter marked the beginning of a life-long relationship. The years 1929-1932 were a time of particularly fertile collaboration, during which the fiercely independent, highly-motivated Lee was soon alternating in the roles of apprentice, photography assistant, lover and muse. After that period, Lee opened and successfully managed her own studio. As prominent figures in avant-garde society (Paris, New York and London) and close friends of such leading artists as Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Max Ernst, and Paul Eluard, Ray and Miller formed part of the early liberal surrealist milieu of the 20s and 30s.

The book, published to complement the Milan exhibition, aims to establish Miller’s remarkable talent as a photographer, setting her on a par with Man Ray, whose work has tended to overshadow hers, and to re-examine the couple’s professional and personal relationship. It also reveals the crucial ways in which Lee Miller inspired Man Ray’s work at that time as well as later, including the discovery of the photographic technique of solarization, which quickly became Ray’s most widely-recognized style. Through a wide selection of their portraits of famous people, their relationship is used as a lens through which to critically re-evaluate and re-interpret the relationship between the two within the Surrealist movement and the broader avant-garde society of Paris between the mid-20s and the late 30s.

About the Author:

Victoria Noel-Johnson is an independent British art historian and curator, specialising in early 20th century European art.

Man Ray is one of seven new titles being published this spring in Thames & Hudsons acclaimed Photofile series.

Each book brings together the best work of the worlds greatest photographers in an attractive format and at an easily affordable price.

Handsome and collectable, the books are printed to the highest standards.

Each one contains some sixty full-page reproductions printed in superb duotone, together with a critical introduction and a full bibliography.

Rays of Light Man Ray, multitalented master of modernist imagery 

Man Ray (1890 - 1976) was a polymath modernist, working in painting, sculpture, film, printmaking, and poetry. But it was his work in photography, with nude studies, fashion work, and portraiture that saw him pioneering a new chapter in the history of camerawork and art. With a wide-ranging collection of both his famous and lesser-known works, this monograph gives a vivid overview of Man Ray's multifaceted practice and photographic legacy. It traces Ray from his artistic beginnings in New York through to his central role in the Parisian avant-garde, where he featured in the first Surrealist exhibition with Jean Arp, Max Ernst, Andre Masson, Joan Miro, and Pablo Picasso and produced such now iconic works as Noire et blanche and Le Violon d Ingres.

Through numerous examples of still life, portraiture, and beyond, we see how Ray constantly experimented with new techniques, pushing photography out of its documentary domain into ethereal, poetic expressions through multiple exposure, solarization, and the particular brand of photograms he wittily termed rayography.

A masterful survey of the finest portraits by one of the most inventive photographic artists of the 20th century

Man Ray was one of the most inventive photographic artists of the twentieth century. His creativity and appetite for innovation and experimentation are showcased in this remarkable book, which accompanies a major exhibition and brings together more than 150 of Man Ray’s best portraits from his long and varied international career.

Experiments in photography

The artist who brought Surrealism to a new medium

Man Ray (1890-1976) is indisputably one of the most original artists of the 20th century. His revolutionary nude studies, fashion work, and portraits opened a new chapter in the history of photography. Born under the name of Emmanuel Radnitzky in Philadelphia, he began his artistic career in New York. In 1921 he moved to Paris, where he was enthusiastically welcomed into Dadaist and Surrealist circles. Man Ray experimented tirelessly with new photographic techniques, multiple exposure, rayography, and solarization being some of his most famous. Erotic, playful, and sometimes sinister, his compositions show unusual bodies and objects: strange, striking images that transform our perceptions of reality. This collection of famous, lesser known, and unknown works fully illustrates Man Ray’s singular visionary power.

This elegant, large-format volume presents twenty masters of photography via 300 extraordinary authorial photographs, providing a broad yet accessible overview of twentieth-century photography.

From Man Rays pioneering experimentations to the elegant and provocative fashion shots of Helmut Newton and Herb Ritts, this volume showcases masters of their craft across different photographic genres, from reportage and documentary to art and portraiture to fashion and glamour photography.

For each artist featured, a 22-page portfolio of their iconic images provides a comprehensive overview of their oeuvre.

Each section opens with an insightful introduction to the masters work and includes a concise biography of the photographer. Images are accompanied by insightful, engaging commentary from the specialist authors and contextualized by original essays that shed light on the stories, motivations, and techniques behind each shot.

Featuring a striking, elegant design and large format, Master Photographers brings a host of stunning works into sharp focus and incorporates a truly international cast of photographers.

From French masters such as Robert Doisneau and Henri Cartier-Bresson, to the wit and charm of Englishman Martin Parr, via the provocative oeuvre of Japanese photographer Araki Nobuyoshi, and the powerful portraits of Americans Walker Evans and Elliot Erwitt, this volume provides a fascinating insight into the work of the most innovative and important photographers of recent times.

A discerning introduction to and a celebration of the legendary masters of twentieth-century photography, this volume is perfect for amateurs and aficionados alike.

Master Photographers features the work of Araki Nobuyoshi, Gabriele Basilico, Margaret Bourke-White, Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Elliott Erwitt, Walker Evans, Mario Giacomelli, Mimmo Jodice, William Klein, Peter Lindbergh, Man Ray, Robert Mapplethorpe, James Nachtwey, Helmut Newton, Martin Parr, Herb Ritts, Sebastiao Salgado, and August Sander.

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Люди определившие фотоискусство 20-го века. Культовые снимки лучших фотографов своего времени. Знаменательные кадры и их создатели, разнообразие жанров и тематик. Все это собрано под одной обложкой в великолепно оформленном издании.

300 великолепных авторских фотографий от двадцатки лучших мастеров своего времени собрано в первоклассную крупноформатную книгу. Эта коллекция – прекрасный толковый обзор фотографии 20-го века. От новаторских экспериментов Ман Рея до элегантных и провокационных фешн-снимков Хельмута Ньютона и Херба Ритца, в этом солидном издании представлены работы двадцати легендарных фотографов, поистине мастеров своего дела в совершенно разных жанрах – от фоторепортажей и документальной фотографии до художественной и портретной съемки.

Портфолио каждого фотографа, представленного здесь, включает подборку его самых выдающихся снимков, информацию о его творческом наследии в целом, краткую биографию и комментарий к каждой из выбранных фотографий. Элегантный дизайн книги и ее большой формат позволяют в полной мере насладиться этими культовыми снимками. Вас ждут фотографии, сыгравшие ключевую роль в фотоискусстве, сформировавшие и превратившие этот жанр в то, чем он является теперь.

Вас ждет звездная двадцатка легенд фотографии -  Нобуёси Араки, Габриеле Базилико, Маргарет Бурк-Уайт, Роберт Капа, Анри Картье-Брессон, Робер Дуано, Эллиотт Эрвитт, Уокер Эванс, Марио Джакомелли, Миммо Йодиче, Уильям Кляйн, Питер Линдберг, Ман Рэй, Роберт Мэпплторп, Джеймс Нахтвей, Хельмут Ньютон, Мартин Парр, Херб Ритц, Себастио Сальгадо и Август Зандер.

An exciting monograph dedicated to an extraordinary figure and one of last century’s most famous and influential artists. ​

Man Ray (1890-1976) was a photographer, painter, and creator of objects, experimental films, and images which were at times enigmatic. This catalogue, which presents more than 200 works and compares and contrasts images with biographical details, is divided into three main sections: Man Ray’s formative years spent between New York and an artists’ colony in Ridgefield, New Jersey; the Paris period; and the period spent between Hollywood and Paris, France-the city he ultimately chose to adopt as his home.

The publication describes the creation of some of his most famous pieces and the motifs-very often of females-that inspired the works. Man Ray’s life was marked by a succession of love affairs with famous and intriguing women, and this catalogue dedicates several sections to this topic.

The book also deals with the themes permeating Man Ray’s work throughout the years, such as his passion for chess, the relationship between reality and illusion, and experimental photography and film. Comparisons are also made with the works of some of the most important artists of the twentieth century, such as Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Constantin Brancusi, Jean Arp, and Francis Picabia.

Bringing together unique and rarely seen photographs, paintings, sculpture and drawings, this exquisite book tells the story of the tumultuous relationship between the artists Man Ray (1890–1976) and Lee Miller (1907–1977). From 1929 to 1932, the two lived together in Paris, first as teacher and student, and later as lovers. Historically, Miller has been described as Man Ray’s muse, but Partners in Surrealism reveals how their brief, mercurial love affair was a key source of mutual and sustained inspiration, resulting in some of the most powerful work of each artist’s career. Featuring a candid and poignant contribution from Antony Penrose, the son of Miller and the English painter Roland Penrose, on the relationship between Man Ray and his parents in later years, this is an extraordinary exploration of the love, lust and desire that drove the art of the Surrealists.

Er hat sie alle gekannt und photographiert: seine Freunde, die Dadaisten und Surrealisten, die Künstler von Montparnasse und ihre Modelle, die Amerikaner der Lost Generation, die sich um Gertrude Stein scharten, die internationale Avantgarde auf der Durchreise oder im Exil, die Pariser Prominenz aus der Welt der Mode, des Theaters, des Kinos Man Ray (1890-1976), Amerikaner, Photograph, Maler, Objektkünstler und Mitbegründer von New York Dada, kommt 1921 nach Paris. Um Geld zu verdienen, legt er sich ein Portraitstudio zu, das schnell zum Treffpunkt von Künstlern und Literaten, Schauspielern und Tänzern, den schillernden Figuren der Demi-monde und der Haute Volée wird. Tausende müssen es in dem halben Jahrhundert gewesen sein, das Man Ray mit einer elfjährigen Zwangsunterbrechung (Hollywood 1940-1951) in seiner Wahlheimat Paris verbrachte und mitgestaltete. Exakt 12.304 Negative aus den Studiobeständen Man Rays, davon knapp zwei Drittel Portraits, gelangten Mitte der 90er Jahre in den Besitz des Centre Pompidou, Paris. Archiviert und digitalisiert wird dieser unschätzbare Fundus jetzt als großformatiges Buch der Öffentlichkeit vorgestellt: eine Auswahl von 500 Portraitaufnahmen, das Gesicht einer ganzen Epoche in meisterhaften Photographien eines Meisters der Improvisation und Menschenkenntnis.

Women features over 100 pictures documenting Man Ray’s activity between 1920 and 1950. It includes fashion photography, advertising and portraiture by showing his originality in revealing images of the body and his constant search for beautiful forms. A unique volume featuring images now considered as icons of the last century, as a visual testimony of the Paris and New York atmospheres and of the avant-garde artistic period; a collection of photographs which testifies to the technical eclecticism of Man Ray’s art, which, as Valerio Dehò explains in his introductory text: it remains absolutely indefinable and cannot be classified in any particular avant-garde movement. He wed all techniques and all poetics, remaining, in the end, faithful only to himself and his search for an art that is intimately wonder, irony, a game.

Man Ray (Philadelphia 1890 - Paris 1976) is known not only as one of the most colourful and productive personalities of Dadaism and Surrealism, but also as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. To this artist goes the merit of having raised photography to the rank of art.

A comprehensive overview of the life and work of the groundbreaking artist Man Ray (1890-1976) who broke down the boundaries between photography and graphic design with his innovative techniques.

Man Ray is indisputably one of the most original artists of the 20th century. His revolutionary nude studies, fashion work, and portraits opened a new chapter in the history of photography. Born under the name of Emmanuel Radnitzky in Philadelphia, he began his artistic career in New York. In 1921 he moved to Paris, where he was enthusiastically welcomed into Dadaist and Surrealist circles. Man Ray experimented tirelessly with new photographic techniques, multiple exposure, rayography, and solarization being some of his most famous. Erotic, playful, and sometimes sinister, his compositions show unusual bodies and objects: strange, striking images that transform our perceptions of reality. This collection of famous, lesser known, and unknown works fully illustrates Man Ray's singular visionary power.

Man Ray is a legend. A tireless experimenter with photographic techniques who co-founded the Dadaist and Surrealist Art movements, he also created a new photographic art that emphasized chance effects and surprising juxtapositions. This superb collection of avant-garde still lifes, surrealist portraits, and camera-less prints or "rayographs" from the 20's and 30's is evidence of his dazzling innovation. Taken together, his photographs extended our awareness and means of expression, laid the groundwork for today's multi-media techniques, and made him one of the most admired artists of the twentieth century.