Man Ray

mural-sized two-panel copy photograph of a Rayograph, inscribed 'Man Ray' in an unidentified hand in pencil on the reverse, framed, 1925-26, this enlargement likely made circa 1938

This impressive and extremely large two-panel photographic mural has a number of condition issues which bear mentioning. While these issues are apparent, the original impact of this dramatic image is very much intact. When this piece was recently discovered, it had been stored tightly rolled for an unknown period of time. Both panels were expertly treated by conservator who was able to successfully flatten them. A treatment report is available upon request, as is a description of further measures that could be taken to address the other condition issues outlined below. There are several tears in both panels. In the lower panel are a 12-inch tear in the bottom edge, adjacent to a much smaller tear, and a 5-inch tear in the right edge. There is a 7-inch tear in the right edge of the upper panel. Creases and a number of pinholes can be seen when the panels are examined closely. There is general overall soiling on the image and margins. The enlarged fingerprints on the left side of the image were present in the inter-negative used to make these enlargements and are not defects in the prints. There is significant soiling on the reverse of both panels, including some paint marks on the reverse of the lower panel.
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.

This large and dramatic two-panel enlargement of the Rayograph in the previous lot was made in preparation for the realization of a woven tapestry.  It is Man Ray's largest extant photographic work from the period, and almost certainly unique.  This enlargement and the original Rayograph upon which it is based were both recently discovered in Aubusson, the French town renowned for the production of tapestries since medieval times. 

Man Ray research scholar Steven Manford observes that Man Ray is known to have commissioned two tapestries based upon his work in photographic media in the 1930s.  The design for one of these tapestries was based upon a cliché verre, the other on a Rayograph (de l'Ecotais 104).  These sources, both made without the use of a camera, date from 1922.  While it is not known when the tapestries were completed, both are documented in photographs taken around 1931 in the apartment of Man Ray's lover, Lee Miller.  In these photographs, both taken by Miller's father, the tapestries are hung on the apartment's walls, integrated into the décor which was designed by Man Ray.  A later photograph, taken around 1937, shows the Rayograph tapestry on the floor of Man Ray's Rue du Val de Grace studio. 

The enlargement offered here is referred to, in the language of the tapestry craft, as a cartoon.  The cartoon serves as the full-scale template from which the weaver creates the tapestry.  Man Ray's carefully hand-drawn border and stylized signature on the mount of the original Rayograph are included in this enlargement, and were clearly intended to be part of the tapestry's design.  There is no finished tapestry of the image extant, and it is likely that one was never realized.  The fact that a cartoon had been produced for the project, however, indicates that planning for the tapestry had reached an advanced stage.  The disruption of the coming war and/or Man Ray's departure from Europe in 1940 may have cut this tapestry project short. 

Man Ray's involvement with the tapestry medium is a subject that deserves more attention than can be offered here.  In 1911, he created a Dadaist work entitled Tapestry (Schwarz, pl. 221).  The piece was not, technically speaking, a tapestry, consisting as it did of rectangles of cloth sewn together into a larger rectangle.  Aside from the Rayograph and cliché verre tapestries mentioned above, Man Ray also produced tapestries of his early Revolving Doors collages at the Atelier3 workshop in Angers.  The scant available record of this work shows that Man Ray had a keen understanding of which of his images would work well as tapestry.  The tapestry medium differed radically, both in object-quality and scale, from his customary media, and Man Ray's ability in this regard is further evidence of his talent in realizing his artistic vision in a broad range of materials. 

Sotheby's thanks Man Ray research scholar Steven Manford for the detailed information set forth here.