Man Ray

Luciano Anselmino, Galleria Il Fauno, Turin (acquired directly from the artist)
Acquired from the above by the present owner circa 1975

Venice, Palazzo Fortuny, Man Ray, Cent’anni di libertà, 1890-1990, 1990, p. 92, illustrated in colour

Jean-Hubert Martin, Rosalind Krauss & Brigitte Hermann, Man Ray: Objets de mon affection, Sculptures et Objets, Catalogue raisonné, Paris, 1983, no. 171, p. 133, illustration of the 1969 example

All elements are original and stable, including the vitrine. There is some general wear to the vitrine and some fine lines of cracks inherent to the panel of the vitrine. The plexiglas is a bit dusty. This work is in very good overall condition.
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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."

Although more than two decades his senior, French composer Erik Satie became close friends with Man Ray from when they met during the installation of the American artist’s first exhibition after arriving in Paris which took place at the Librairie Six in November 1921. Man Ray later recalled: “With a little white beard, an old-fashioned pince-nez, black bowler hat, black overcoat and umbrella, he looked like an undertaker or an employee of some conservative bank.” (Man Ray, Self Portrait, Boston and London, 1988, p. 96). Satie “was able to converse with [Man Ray] in English, and their friendship warmed at the corner groggery. As they returned to the gallery, a French hardware store was exciting enough to inspire the now notorious object, Gift (Cadeau), the flatiron studded with tacks.” (William N. Copley, “Man Ray: The Dada of Us All”, Portfolio, no. 7, Winter 1963, p. 109).

The title of the present object refers to Satie’s musical composition Trois morceaux en forme de poire, first performed in 1912. Presented within a box, a monumental pear – here a reproduction in wax – dominates a landscape beneath a vast cloud hanging in the sky. Created in 1969, its pendant from the same year is the celebrated Pêchage, where three oversized peaches are presented in a similar landscape setting within a box.

This lot is sold with 2 works by Man Ray framed together: 

- a drawing on graph paper, signed with the initials MR, titled La poire d’Erik Satie and dated Hammamet 1972 (the artist spent a holiday in Tunisia that year) (15 x 10 cm; 5 7/8 x 4 in.);

- an autograph letter with colour photograph, dated 26-3-73 and relating to the numbered edition of 1973: Cher Luciano, C’est comme ca que la poire a changé son decor, T’embrasse, Man (16.5 x 12 cm; 6 ½ x 4 ¾ in.).