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.
Belle Main (Les mains libre) - Bronze sculpture by Man Ray - 1971
By Man Ray
Located in Roma, IT
Belle Main (Les mains libre) is a bronze sculpture realized by Man Ray in 1971. Signed with initials and numbered on the base. Cast by Fratelli Barberis in Turin for Luciano Anselm...
Bronze
Torso of Ryan
Located in London, GB
Bronze Numbered 2/10 57cm × 18cm × 40cm (incl. base) Ian Rank-Broadley is one of the foremost sculptors working today. His effigy of the late Queen Elizabeth II appears on all UK an...
Bronze
Man with Arms Raised
Located in London, GB
Bronze Numbered 1/10 32cm × 10cm × 10cm (incl. base) Ian Rank-Broadley is one of the foremost sculptors working today. His effigy of the late Queen Elizabeth II appears on all UK an...
Bronze
$5,140
H 10.63 in W 23.63 in D 4.73 in
Childhood, Contemporary Bronze Figure Sculpture
Located in Taichung, TW
Part of Ser Uang Huang’s Childhood Series. Childhood is a work full of charm and playful creativity. The boy and girl figures are separate from the log-like base, allowing viewers to...
Bronze
$3,180
H 16.15 in W 5.52 in D 4.73 in
Midst of Waiting, Contemporary Bronze Figure Sculpture
Located in Taichung, TW
Part of Ser Uang Huang’s Travelers Series. Huang has a gift for capturing fleeting yet profound moments from everyday life, and Midst of Waiting is one such example. Waiting is an in...
Bronze
Arlen Reclining
Located in London, GB
Bronze Numbered 4/10 21cm × 26cm × 57cm Ian Rank-Broadley is one of the foremost sculptors working today. His effigy of the late Queen Elizabeth II appears on all UK and Commonwealt...
Bronze
$9,700
H 15.36 in W 5.91 in D 4.73 in
Harmony, Contemporary Bronze Figure Sculpture
Located in Taichung, TW
Harmony is a whimsical and lighthearted work that captures the playful spirit of a group chorus. The three figures, each with a distinct mouth shape, appear to be singing in differen...
Bronze
Pair of Elegant Gilt Bronze Sculptures of Dogs
Located in Rome, IT
Fine pair of gilt bronze dog sculptures. The item will be well-suited to either an indoor or outdoor setting.
Bronze
Troilus at the Spring
Located in London, GB
Bronze Numbered 2/10 44cm × 9cm × 33cm (incl. base) The young prince Troilus goes to water his horse at the spring unaware of the ambush, which Achilles has prepared for him. A mome...
Bronze
$14,650
H 29.93 in W 12.6 in D 13.78 in
Great Catch, Contemporary Bronze Figure Sculpture
Located in Taichung, TW
Tainan’s Anping has long been a fishing community where, towards the end of World War II, fishermen lived between hardship and reward. They rose with the sun, ventured into uncertain...
Bronze
Seating Group Green Velvet
Located in Zug, CH
CARLO RAMPAZZI (b. 1949) Seating Group 2007 Sofa covered in green mohair velvet, supported by a bronze structure slide; Armchairs with shell artisan decoration, with green Haute Cout...
Bronze
Helios, God of the Sun
Located in London, GB
Bronze Numbered 4/10 75cm × 15cm × 29cm (incl. base) Ian Rank-Broadley is one of the foremost sculptors working today. His effigy of the late Queen Elizabeth II appears on all UK an...
Bronze
Crouching Youth
Located in London, GB
Bronze Numbered 8/10 28cm × 15cm × 26cm (incl. base) Ian Rank-Broadley is one of the foremost sculptors working today. His effigy of the late Queen Elizabeth II appears on all UK an...
Bronze
Cadeau
By Man Ray
Located in New York, NY
An iconic and historic work of art, Man Ray's Le Cadeau ("The Gift"), is an early ready-made created by the artist in 1921 during his Dada period. Typical of the perverse, subversive...
Iron
Cadeau
By Man Ray
Located in New York, NY
An iconic and historic work of art, Man Ray's Le Cadeau ("The Gift"), is an early ready-made created by the artist in 1921 during his Dada period. Typical of the perverse, subversive...
Iron
Cadeau
By Man Ray
Located in New York, NY
An iconic and historic work of art, Man Ray's Le Cadeau ("The Gift"), is an early ready-made created by the artist in 1921 during his Dada period. Typical of the perverse, subversive...
Iron
Gift, 1921 ("Cadeau")
By Man Ray
Located in New York, NY
Man Ray Gift, 1921 ("Cadeau"), 1974 Cast iron with brown patina and copper nails. Stamped by artist's estate, Signed, inscribed and numbered in white paint; 4-page brochure from Art...
Copper, Iron
Cadeau
By Man Ray
Located in New York, NY
An iconic and historic work of art, Man Ray's Le Cadeau ("The Gift"), is an early ready-made created by the artist in 1921 during his Dada period. Typical of the perverse, subversive...
Iron
Cadeau
By Man Ray
Located in New York, NY
Man Ray was a American avant-garde artist and leading figure in the Dada and Surrealist movements. Conceived in 1921, Cadeau is from an edition of 5000, each signed and numbered with...
Bronze
Gift, 1921 ("Cadeau")
By Man Ray
Located in New York, NY
Man Ray Gift, 1921 ("Cadeau"), 1974 Cast iron with brown patina and copper nails. Signed, inscribed & numbered. Laminated COA. Edition of 5000 (1229/5000) Stamped by artist's estate, Signed, inscribed and numbered 1229/5000 in white paint; With laminated card numbered in black marker and signed, 4-page brochure from Arturo Schwarz Luciano Anselmino, Turin, pub. Foundry: Mirano, Venice Man Ray's iconic Cadeau (French for 'gift') is one of the most recognizable icons of the Surrealist movement. The work is in its original packaging, beautiful...
Copper, Iron
Sold
H 6.7 in W 3.94 in D 3.94 in
Cadeau - Early 20th Century, Man Ray, Surrealism, Iron, Still-Life Sculptures
By Man Ray
Located in Köln, DE
The "Cadeau" is the first surreal sculpture. Man Ray developed the idea for his first exhibition in Paris in 1921. He bought the iron and the nails, made the sculpture and brought it...
Iron
Cadeau
By Man Ray
Located in New York, NY
Cast metal multiple. Signed, titled and numbered 2382/5000. Initialed and numbered 2382/5000 on the printed plastic justification card. Cast by the Mirano Foundry, Venice. Produced b...
Metal
Cadeau
By Man Ray
Located in New York, NY
An iconic and historic work of art, Man Ray's Le Cadeau ("The Gift"), is an early ready-made created by the artist in 1921 during his Dada period. Typical of the perverse, subversive...
Iron
Sold
H 6.7 in W 3.94 in D 3.94 in
Cadeau - Early 20th Century, Man Ray, Surrealism, Iron, Still-Life Sculptures
By Man Ray
Located in Köln, DE
The "Cadeau" is the first surreal sculpture. Man Ray developed the idea for his first exhibition in Paris in 1921. He bought the iron and the nails, made the sculpture and brought it...
Iron
Cadeau, Man Ray
By Man Ray
Located in New York, NY
An iconic and historic work of art, Man Ray's Le Cadeau ("The Gift"), is an early ready-made created by the artist in 1921 during his Dada period. Typical of t...
Iron