Lot 58
  • 58

MAN RAY | Mr & Mrs Woodman, c. 1928

Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 GBP
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Description

  • Man Ray
  • Mr & Mrs Woodman, c. 1928
  • Silver print
  • 8 by 10.5cm., 3 ¼ by 4in. 
Vintage silver print. With the artist's stamp on the verso 'Man Ray, 31 bis rue campagne première, Paris XIV'. Mounted and framed. 

Provenance

Galerie 1900-2000, David and Marcel Fleiss
Private Collection, Italy

Exhibited

Tokyo, Station Gallery; Osaka, Daimaru Museum,  Man Ray, Retrospective Photographique 1917-75, September – November 1996
Tokyo, The Bunkamura Museum of Art; Hamamatsu, Hamamatsu Municipal Museum of Art; Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art (and travelling), Photographies de Man Ray, May – June 2002

Literature

Exh. Cat., Paris, Centre George Pompidou, Man Ray, Photographe, December – April 1982, p.164, N204 (variant)
Exh. Cat., Valladolid, Sala de exposiciones de las Francesas, Man Ray, April - June 1995, p.94, N59 (variant)

Condition

This beautiful work is printed on semi-glossy paper and is in overall excellent condition; the surface is clean and in excellent condition with no visible marks except for a minute loss of paper in the upper left corner, and a miniscule tear in the paper in the lower right edge. On the verso, there is very light yellowing to the edges and a faint loss of paper along the lower left edge, most probably due to previous adhesive material having been removed. This photograph is hinged with cellophane to the mount at two points along the top edge of the verso.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Man Ray frequently incorporated artist’s mannequins into paintings, photographs and his own objects. While wooden mannequin figures were widely used by artists for centuries to draw life studies, Man Ray, in true surrealist fashion, turned this tradition upside down and used the figures to create interactive and provocative scenes – his version of a ‘life study’. Despite the wooden material of the protagonists, the image
is full of movement with the faceless actors playing on notions of fantasy. The photograph becomes a playful double game of the observer and the observed. Man Ray later compiled a set of 27 images of Mr and Mrs Woodman, however this is a rare opportunity to acquire a vintage print of this immortalised couple.