4208 - Man Ray

Man Ray Rayographs; Portrait of the Paris Dada group. 1921–23. 3 gelatin silver prints, 2 on Agfa paper, printed in 1978 and 1991. The 2 rayograph prints are mounted along the upper edge onto gray board. 2 approx. 29.5 x 22.5 cm (mount 43 x 34 cm) and 19.8 x 26.5 cm (sheet 24 x 30 cm). Each with a Griffelkunst edition stamp; the two rayograph prints also bear Man Ray’s signature stamp and rayograph stamp, as well as being signed and dated in pencil by the estate executor on the reverse; a Griffelkunst stamp is on the reverse of the mount. Man Ray created his original “rayographs” without a camera, arranging objects on light-sensitive paper and exposing them to light. Straddling the line between abstraction and representation, these experimental images became an important part of his contribution to the Dada and Surrealist movements. This group includes two later prints based on rayographs, alongside a portrait of the Paris Dada group. – The two rayograph prints are richly toned and in near-excellent condition; the Dada group portrait is slightly buckled. Lit.: Jean-Hubert Martin, ed. Man Ray: Photographs. London: Thames and Hudson, 1991, ill. pp. 140–141.