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MAN RAY, (American, 1890-1976), MAGNOLIA BLOSSOM, signed and dated "Man Ray 1926", in pencil in l...

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:40,000.00 - 60,000.00 USD
MAN RAY, (American, 1890-1976), MAGNOLIA BLOSSOM, signed and dated  Man Ray 1926 , in pencil in l...
MAN RAY
(American, 1890-1976)
MAGNOLIA BLOSSOM
signed and dated "Man Ray 1926"
in pencil in lower left of image recto
gelatin silver print
mounted on board
155/8 x 191/2 in. (39.7 x 49.5 cm)
mount: 153/4 x 193/4 in. (40 x 50.2 cm)
1926
ESTIMATE: $40,000-60,000
<p>PROVENANCE
From the Estate to the Prakapas Gallery, New York (until 1980)
Private Collection, New York
<p>LITERATURE
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MAN RAY 1920 PARIS 1934, Hartford, Connecticut, James Thrall Soby, 1934, pl. 23 (vertical variant illustrated)
MAN RAY: PHOTOGRAPHIES 1920-1934, PARIS, Paris, Cahiers d'Art, 1934,
pl. 23 (vertical variant illustrated)
MAN RAY PHOTOGRAPHS 1920-1931, New York, East River Press, 1975,
p. 23 (vertical variant illustrated)
Man Ray, L'IMMAGINE FOTOGRAFICA, Venice, Edizioni La Biennale de Venezia, 1977, p. 202, fig. 120 (vertical variant illustrated)
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MAN RAY: 105 WORKS, 1920-1934, New York, Dover Publications, 1979, pl. 23 (vertical variant illustrated)
Janus, MAN RAY: THE PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE, New York, Baron's, 1980,
pl. 121 (vertical variant illustrated)
UNE PASSION FRANÇAISE: PHOTOGRAPHIES DE LA COLLECTION ROGER THEROND, Paris, Filipacchi/Maison Européenne de la Photographie, 1999, p. 287, no. 224 (vertical variant illustrated)
This image is typical of Man Ray's artistic experiments conducted in Paris between 1920 and 1934, when he worked amidst the key players of the Surrealist movement. Juxtaposing two contradictory elements, he presents a freshly plucked magnolia blossom against the weave of a man-made background. In contrast to more traditional depictions of this flower, such as those created by Imogen Cunningham around the same time, Man Ray pulls the magnolia blossom from its familiar environment and places it under harsh studio lights, against a repetitive background, creating a graphic image of severe light and shadow. This photograph is reminiscent of the chessboard-style compositions that dominated many of Man Ray's earlier paintings. In the spirit of Surrealism, this unexpected juxtaposition is meant to awaken the unconscious.
A vertical variant of this image was included in Man Ray's landmark book PHOTOGRAPHS BY MAN RAY 1920 PARIS 1934, the first retrospective of the artist's oeuvre published by James Thrall Soby in 1934. The book
also contained important texts by Man Ray, Paul Éluard, André Breton and Tristan Tzara.
This photograph is believed to be unique in this format, the largest size Man Ray was known to print.