Man Ray - Photographs New York Tuesday, October 1, 2019 | Phillips

Photographs

New York Auction 1 October 2019

  • Provenance

    Christie's, Los Angeles, 26 June 1997, lot 111

  • Literature

    Manford, Behind the Photo: The Stamps of Man Ray, n.p., for stamp

  • Catalogue Essay

    In Man Ray’s hands, solarization was the ideal tool with which to create an entirely new kind of Surreal portraiture. A portrait was not always first-and-foremost about verisimilitude for Man Ray, and he employed a variety of techniques – both in front of the camera and in the darkroom – to heighten the intensity of his images. In this portrait of a woman, Man Ray made expert use of the darkroom technique of solarization, also known as the Sabattier effect, in which the tones of an image are reversed when light is introduced during the development process. Beginning in the late 1920s, Man Ray employed this technique in his nudes, portraits, and still lifes to create images that were representational yet detached from reality. The portrait offered here is prime example of Man Ray’s ever-innovative approach to photography.

World View: Property from a Private Collection

128

Man Ray

Portrait of a Woman

1942
Solarized gelatin silver print.
9 7/8 x 7 7/8 in. (25.3 x 20.3 cm)
'Photograph by Man Ray' credit stamp (Manford M22) and dated in an unidentified hand in pencil on the verso.

Estimate
$20,000 - 30,000 

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Vanessa Hallett
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Photographs

New York Auction 1 October 2019