Man Ray’s Portraits of Famous Friends

Man Ray (August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976), born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal.

Best known in the art world for his avant-garde photography, Man Ray produced major works in a variety of media and considered himself a painter above all. He was also a renowned fashion and portrait photographer. He is noted for his photograms, which he renamed “rayographs” after himself.

While appreciation for Man Ray’s work beyond his fashion and portrait photography was slow in coming during his lifetime, especially in his native United States, his reputation has grown steadily in the decades since.

Antonin Artaud, Paris, 1926

Genica Athanasiou aka Eugénie Tanase, Paris, 1921

Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski de Rola), Paris, 1930

Constantin Brancusi, Paris, circa 1930

André Breton, Paris, circa 1928

Alexander Calder, Paris, 1931

Salvador Dalí, Paris, circa 1929

Bernard Deshoulieres, Paris, circa 1929

Émile Dubuffet aka Lilie Carlu, Paris, circa 1932

Marcel Duchamp, Paris, 1921

Nusch Éluard, Paris, circa 1935

Benjamin Fondane, Paris, circa 1928

Madge Garland, Paris, circa 1927

Jacqueline Goddard, Paris, circa 1930

Ernest Hemingway, Paris, 1923

Edward James, Paris, 1937

Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret), Paris, circa 1927

Georges Malkine, Paris, circa 1929

Lee Miller, Paris, circa 1929

Joan Miró, Paris, circa 1928

Bronislava Nijinska, Paris, circa 1922

Ezra Pound, Paris, 1923

William Seabrook and Lee Miller, Paris, circa 1930

Joseph Stella and Marcel Duchamp, New York, 1920

Helen Tamiris (Helen Becker), Paris, circa1930

Denise Tual, Paris, circa 1935

Karin van Leyden (Karin Elisabeth Kluth) Paris, circa 1929

Nancy Cunard, Paris, circa 1925

Henry Crowder, Paris, 1930 (Arms by Nancy Cunard)