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Lot Essay
Lee Miller became Man Ray’s student soon after meeting in Paris, in July of 1929. She apprenticed in his photo studio, quickly becoming a photographer herself. On those occasions, where the Campagne Première studio was not in use, Miller served as Man Ray's model.
The sitting pictured took place in that first year, with a variant image published in Amour de l'art, in June 1930 under the title "Femme en noir et blanc." The present image was published in 1933, in a special double issue of the deluxe art journal Minotaure. The issue opens with an essay on photography, authored by Man Ray, entitled 'L'age de la Lumière.' A series of six photographs by Man Ray follows, captioned 'Portraits de femmes', including the image of Lee Miller. The original signed print used in Minotaure was sold at Christie's, New York, in a April 18, 2001 Photographs auction.
The present photograph is, as of this writing, likely the only other known print. It is distinctive in being untrimmed, and in pristine condition, without the markings of the studio, and without a signature, or date. Such untouched prints are not unusual, where a work had been held in the studio’s inventory by Man Ray, and no markings added by other hands. That is what is likely to have happened in this instance. It plausibly follows that this print remained in the possession of Juliet Man Ray until first appearing in the 1995 Juliet Man Ray estate sale. It subsequently reappeared at auction in 2005. (In the two public sales, 1995 and 2005, the print dimensions are the same, and no mention is made of a signature, studio stamp, or any markings of any kind.)
The corresponding negative is housed in the Fonds Man Ray, Centre Pompidou (AM 1994-393 (2969)). The sitting produced six (extant) negatives. The corresponding contact print, with Man Ray's cropping notations is housed in the Fonds Man Ray, Centre Pompidou (AM 1994-394 (4283)), along with four variant contact prints.
Steven Manford, Man Ray Research Scholar, has examined this photograph for Christie's, and has provided original research. Documentation on this object is held by the Manford Archive of Man Ray Photographs and Rayographs, and the Manford Inventory of Man Ray Stamps.
The sitting pictured took place in that first year, with a variant image published in Amour de l'art, in June 1930 under the title "Femme en noir et blanc." The present image was published in 1933, in a special double issue of the deluxe art journal Minotaure. The issue opens with an essay on photography, authored by Man Ray, entitled 'L'age de la Lumière.' A series of six photographs by Man Ray follows, captioned 'Portraits de femmes', including the image of Lee Miller. The original signed print used in Minotaure was sold at Christie's, New York, in a April 18, 2001 Photographs auction.
The present photograph is, as of this writing, likely the only other known print. It is distinctive in being untrimmed, and in pristine condition, without the markings of the studio, and without a signature, or date. Such untouched prints are not unusual, where a work had been held in the studio’s inventory by Man Ray, and no markings added by other hands. That is what is likely to have happened in this instance. It plausibly follows that this print remained in the possession of Juliet Man Ray until first appearing in the 1995 Juliet Man Ray estate sale. It subsequently reappeared at auction in 2005. (In the two public sales, 1995 and 2005, the print dimensions are the same, and no mention is made of a signature, studio stamp, or any markings of any kind.)
The corresponding negative is housed in the Fonds Man Ray, Centre Pompidou (AM 1994-393 (2969)). The sitting produced six (extant) negatives. The corresponding contact print, with Man Ray's cropping notations is housed in the Fonds Man Ray, Centre Pompidou (AM 1994-394 (4283)), along with four variant contact prints.
Steven Manford, Man Ray Research Scholar, has examined this photograph for Christie's, and has provided original research. Documentation on this object is held by the Manford Archive of Man Ray Photographs and Rayographs, and the Manford Inventory of Man Ray Stamps.