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MAN RAY (American, 1890-1976) + L'HEURE DE L'OBSERVATOIRE - LES AMOUREUX "Man Ray: Observatory Time,

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:25,000.00 - 35,000.00 USD
MAN RAY (American, 1890-1976) + L'HEURE DE L'OBSERVATOIRE - LES AMOUREUX  Man Ray: Observatory Time,
MAN RAY (American, 1890-1976) + L'HEURE DE L'OBSERVATOIRE - LES AMOUREUX "Man Ray: Observatory Time, The Lovers [1932-34] Collection of Mr. & Mrs. W.N. Copley" inscribed in ink on verso numerical notations inscribed in red wax pencil on verso vintage gelatin silver print 37/16 x 87/8 in. (8.7 x 22.5 cm) circa 1934 ESTIMATE: $25,000-35,000 PROVENANCE Marion Meyer Gallery, Paris Collection of Mr. and Mrs. William N. Copley Private Collection, ITALY EXHIBITED NEW YORK, Sean Kelly Gallery, MARCEL DUCHAMP / MAN RAY: FIFTY YEARS OF ALCHEMY, January 27-March 4, 2000 LITERATURE Emmanuelle de l'+cotais and Alain Sayag, eds., MAN RAY: PHOTOGRAPHY AND ITS DOUBLE, Corte Madera, California, 1998, pp. 54-55 (comparative illustrations of the painting photographed with model and the photographic study from which the painting was made) This photograph is one of many taken by Man Ray of his highly acclaimed painting, L'Heure de l'Observatoire - Les Amoureux. It became widely known when used by HARPER'S BAZAAR with models reclining beneath it. This photograph of the image alone, refers to Man Ray's obsession with the painting, and more importantly to its subject, the lips of his assistant and lover, Lee Miller. Man Ray also plays with the irony of mixed media by photographing a painting, stemming from his interest in Dadaism and Surrealism. The painting, while inspired much earlier by a lipstick imprint left on the artist's collar by Kiki, depicts the lips of Lee Miller. It was in fact painted from a photographic study, further revealing his fascination with the combination of media. He photographed the lips about which he was so passionate, painted from the photograph, and then obsessively photographed the painting. Miller's lips hover in a cloudy sky over the observatory near the Luxembourg Gardens. The canvas hung above Man Ray's bed in his Val-de-GrGce apartment. In 1936, it was exhibited in 'Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism' at the Museum of Modern Art and was extremely well-received. In 1979, three years after Man Ray's death, the painting sold at auction for a record-breaking price for a work by the artist. This lot will be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from William Copley