Born Emmanuel Radnitzky, Man Ray was a famous American filmmaker, painter and photographer. His career is distinctive, above all, for the success he achieved in both the United States and Europe. First maturing at the center of American modernism in the 1910s, he made Paris his home in the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1940s, he crossed the Atlantic once again and spent periods in New York and Hollywood.
Ray’s art spanned painting, sculpture, film, prints and poetry, and in his long career, he worked in styles influenced by Cubism, Futurism, Dada and Surrealism. He also successfully navigated the worlds of commercial and fine art and came to be a sought-after fashion photographer. Ray is perhaps most remembered for his photographs of the inter-war years, in particular, the camera-less pictures he called "Rayographs," but he always regarded himself first and foremost as a painter. Although he matured as an abstract painter, Ray eventually disregarded the traditional superiority painting held over photography and happily moved between different forms. Dada and Surrealism were important in encouraging this attitude; they also persuaded him that the idea that motivates a work of art was more important than the work of art itself.
André Breton once described Ray as a pre-Surrealist, something which accurately describes his natural affinity for the style. Even before the movement had coalesced, in the mid-1920s, his work, influenced by Marcel Duchamp, had Surrealist undertones. He would continue to draw on the movement's ideas throughout his life. Ray's work has ultimately been very important in popularizing Surrealism.
Find original Man Ray art on 1stDibs.
| Average Sold Price |
| $1,755 |
| Styles |
| Materials |
| Related Artists |
Les Nuits de Saint Jean De Luz
By Man Ray
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Man Ray (American, 1890-1976) Title: Les Nuits De aint Jean De Luz Year: 1968 Medium: Color Lithograph Edition: Numbered 87/120 in pen...
Lithograph
$2,636
H 6.7 in W 3.94 in
Mr and Mrs Woodman : The Horsewoman - Original signed silver print
By Man Ray
Located in Paris, IDF
MAN RAY (Emmanuel Radnitsky, known as) (1890–1976) Mr. and Mrs. Woodman (The Horsewoman), 1970 Photograph: Original silver print Artist’s signature stamp on the reverse On silver pa...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500
H 20 in W 16 in D 1 in
MAN RAY (1890-1976), SURREAL MODERNIST ABSTRAC, 1934 Photogravure, FIRST EDITION
By Man Ray
Located in Pembroke Pines, FL
Artist: Man Ray (American born, 1890 - 1976) Title: SURREAL MODERNIST ABSTRACT Date Of Negative: 1934 Type Of Print: Authentic Vintage Sheet Fed Photogravure/Heliogravure. Date Of Pr...
Photogravure
Mr and Mrs Woodman : Shared Joy - Original signed silver print
By Man Ray
Located in Paris, IDF
MAN RAY (Emmanuel Radnitsky, known as) (1890–1976) Mr. and Mrs. Woodman (Shared Joy), 1970 Photograph: Original silver print Artist’s signature stamp on the reverse On silver paper,...
Silver Gelatin
Original Exhibition Poster by Man Ray, Salon de Mai 1971
By Man Ray
Located in PARIS, FR
This original 1971 "Salon de Mai" poster by Man Ray represents a remarkable meeting between one of the twentieth century's greatest avant-garde artists and one of France's most impor...
Paper, Lithograph
$2,063
H 29.93 in W 22.45 in D 0.04 in
Trasfiguration d'un Cactus - Etching by Man Ray - 1960s
By Man Ray
Located in Roma, IT
Color etching and aquatint realized in 1969/71. Hand signed and numbered in pencil. Edition of 99. Published by Georges Visat, Paris. Ref. Anselmino 29E Very good condition.
Etching
$2,751
H 19.89 in W 14.18 in D 0.04 in
L'Origine des Espèces par Voie de Selection... - Lithograph by Man Ray - 1972
By Man Ray
Located in Roma, IT
Color lithograph on vellum. Artist proof out of an edition of 180. Hand signed in pencil. Published: XXe Siècle, Paris, Galleria Schwarz, Milan, Leon Amiel, New York. Arches map, ...
Lithograph
Man Ray, Electricite Rayograph, 1931, Framed Heliogravure
By Man Ray
Located in Barcelona, ES
Framed Rayograph Heliogravure by Man Ray for Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d'Electricite´, 1931. Printed in Heliogravure and signed in the negative. Limited to 500 copies. ...
Paper
| Sold Date | Sold Price | Category | Medium | Creation Year | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| $1,755 |
Average sold price of items in the past 12 months |
| $280-$4,200 |
| Sold price range of items in the past 12 months |
Donated by John Pritzker, the collection includes works by Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray and more.
One of the 20th century's most important female photographers is finally being recognized as a daring and seminal artist.