Man Ray
American-born artist who pioneered rayographs and Dada-Surrealist work.
Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American-born, French-naturalized visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. He produced major works in a variety of media but considered himself a painter above all. He was a photography innovator as well as a fashion and portrait photographer, and is noted for his work with photograms, which he called "rayographs" in reference to himself.
- born
- August 27, 1890, South Philadelphia
- died
- November 18, 1976
- nationality
- American-born, French-naturalized
- known_for
- Rayographs, Dada and Surrealist art, portrait photography
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Man Ray was born Emmanuel Radnitzky in South Philadelphia on August 27, 1890, the eldest child of Russian Jewish immigrants. In early 1912, his family changed their surname to Ray; Emmanuel changed his first name to Man and gradually began to use Man Ray as his name. He met his first wife, Belgian poet Adon Lacroix, in 1913; they married in 1914, separated in 1919, and divorced in 1937. In July 1921, Man Ray moved to Paris, settling in Montparnasse. There he accidentally rediscovered the cameraless photogram, which he called "rayographs," hailed by Tristan Tzara as "pure Dada creations." Shortly after arriving, he met and fell in love with Alice Prin ("Kiki de Montparnasse"), who was his companion for most of the 1920s and starred in his experimental films *Le Retour à la raison* and *L'Étoile de mer*. In 1929, he began a love affair with Surrealist photographer Lee Miller; together they reinvented the photographic technique of solarization. Miller left him in 1932. From late 1934 until August 1940, he was in a relationship with French art model Ady Fidelin, who appeared in many of his photographs. When Ray fled Nazi-occupied France, Fidelin chose to stay behind. Many significant figures posed for his camera, including Tristan Tzara, Pablo Picasso, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dalí, Peggy Guggenheim, and Antonin Artaud. In the winter of 1933, Méret Oppenheim posed nude for Man Ray in a well-known series of photographs. His practice of photographing African art led to iconic images including *Noire et blanche*.
Reader's Guide
Man Ray's significance lies in his role as a bridge between the Dada and Surrealist movements and his innovations in photography. His rayographs expanded the possibilities of cameraless photography, while his readymades, such as *The Gift* (1921)—a flatiron with metal tacks attached to the bottom—challenged traditional notions of art. He also contributed to early kinetic art, helping Marcel Duchamp make *Rotary Glass Plates* in 1920, one of the earliest examples of kinetic art. That same year, with Katherine Dreier and Duchamp, he founded the Société Anonyme, an itinerant collection that was the first museum of modern art in the United States; its collection was donated to the Yale University Art Gallery in 1941. He published two Dadaist periodicals, each with only one issue: *The Ridgefield Gazook* (1915) and *TNT* (1919). His work *Aerograph* (1919) was done with airbrush on glass. Despite his fame in photography, he insisted he was primarily a painter. His legacy endures in the continued influence of his experimental techniques and his role in shaping modern art.
Did You Know?
- Man Ray was born Emmanuel Radnitzky; his family changed their surname to Ray in early 1912 in reaction to antisemitism.
- He accidentally rediscovered the cameraless photogram in Paris, calling them 'rayographs,' which Tristan Tzara hailed as 'pure Dada creations.'
- With Marcel Duchamp and Katherine Dreier, he founded the Société Anonyme in 1920, the first museum of modern art in the United States.
- His readymade *The Gift* (1921) is a flatiron with metal tacks attached to the bottom.
- He helped Duchamp make *Rotary Glass Plates* in 1920, one of the earliest examples of kinetic art.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Man Ray?
Man Ray was an American-born, French-naturalized artist who built his career in Paris from the 1920s onward. He worked across painting, photography, and film, yet always insisted that he was, above all else, a painter.
What are rayographs and who created them?
Rayographs are camera-less shadow photographs made by laying objects on light-sensitive paper and exposing them to light, yielding crisp abstract silhouettes. Man Ray developed the technique and named it after himself, making it one of his most recognizable artistic signatures.
Was Man Ray a Dadaist or a Surrealist?
He contributed meaningfully to both Dada and Surrealism, but he never formally joined either group. His loose, playful relationship to both movements let him borrow from each without being bound by their official manifestos.
Where was Man Ray born and where did he work?
He was born Emmanuel Radnitzky in South Philadelphia on August 27, 1890, and later became a French citizen. The overwhelming majority of his creative output was produced in Paris, where he moved in wide-ranging art and fashion circles.
What was Man Ray's real name?
His birth name was Emmanuel Radnitzky, and he adopted the name Man Ray early in his career as a deliberate self-referential brand. Every catalogue, exhibition, and scholarly reference uses that chosen name rather than his family name.
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