Man Ray

the photographer's '8, Rue du Val-de-Grace' studio stamp (Manford M8) on the reverse, circa 1935 (Cahiers d'art, 1935, n. 5-6, variant cropping)

Collection of Lotte Lenya

To Lisa Aronson, wife of stage designer Boris Aronson

By descent to the present owner

This photograph, on smooth double-weight paper with a slight sheen, is in generally very good condition. When viewed in raking light, silvering is visible in the dark areas of the image. Also visible in raking light are the following: a small, soft, linear crease extending from the upper right corner; and a few tiny deposits of original retouching. This print has been trimmed to the image. There is graphite residue along the left edge, and the corners are bumped. A thin, 1/2-inch deposit of indeterminate nature is visible along the sitter's jawline. On the reverse of the print are fingerprints, light soiling, and a few pink and brown deposits of indeterminate nature.
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.

The portrait offered here, of Surrealist muse Lise Deharme, is from Man Ray’s unfinished film Essai de simulation du délire cinématographique, a 1935 collaboration with André Breton and Paul Éluard.  Although the project was abandoned by Breton almost before it began, seven film stills — including an enlarged cropping of the present image — were published in Christian Zervos’s Cahiers d’art (No. 5-6, 1935).

Deharme was a prolific writer, and two early volumes of her writing were illustrated by Joan Miró and Claude Cahun.   Her short-lived Surrealist review, Le Phare de Neuilly (1933), featured writing by avant-garde, often controversial, figures of the day, such as D. H. Lawrence and psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, and was illustrated with photographs by Man Ray, Brassaï, and Dora Maar, among others.  Deharme was immortalized by André Breton as Dame au Gant (Lady of the Glove) in the novel Nadja, and in another photograph by Man Ray as Dame de Pique (Queen of Spades).