Lot 72
  • 72

Man Ray

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
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Description

  • Man Ray
  • ‘KIKI – MA VOISIN’
  • Gelatin silver print
  • 8 3/4 x 11 1/8 inches
signed in pencil on the image, signed, titled, and dated in pencil on the reverse, 1927

Provenance

Sotheby’s London, 2 May 1997, Sale 7266, Lot 446

Condition

This photograph is on heavy double-weight paper with a matte surface and warm tones. It is trimmed to the image and shows minor sporadic wear to the edges. The print is in near excellent condition. Close examination reveals Man Ray's careful retouching around the car's foremost fender.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

After establishing himself as a successful professional photographer in Paris, Man Ray was able to purchase an automobile, a Voisin C7, that gave him mobility in and around the city.  The Voisin makes an extended appearance in Man Ray’s 1929 film, Les Mystères du Château du Dé: in the opening sequences, the car is driven away from Paris and through the French countryside by two faceless men, the distinctive Voisin hood ornament visible in many of the drivers’-eye-view shots. 

This photograph shows Man Ray’s handsome coupé parked alongside a country road, with Kiki, Man Ray’s lover and muse at the time, in the passenger’s seat.  The photograph is twin to another, taken from the same vantage point, in which Man Ray appears in the car. 

The Voisin line of automobiles was manufactured by a French company established by the aviator Gabriel Voisin in 1919.  Man Ray’s interest in cars did not end with the Voisin, but continued into his years in Hollywood, where he purchased a 1941 Graham-Page sedan that could quickly accelerate to 100 miles an hour.  Arnold Crane remembered that, even in Paris in the 1960s, Man Ray was anxious to test his new Porsche 911-T against Crane’s Ferrari (cf. Neil Baldwin, Man Ray: American Artist, pp. 247 and 344).