Artist
Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky)American, 1890–1976
CultureAmerican
Titles
- Nancy Cunard
Date1926
PlaceParis, France
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 11 1/8 × 8 7/8in. (28.2 × 22.5cm)
Sheet: 11 1/8 × 8 7/8 in. (28.2 × 22.5 cm)
Mount: 15 9/16 × 11 3/8 in. (39.5 × 28.9 cm)
Sheet: 11 1/8 × 8 7/8 in. (28.2 × 22.5 cm)
Mount: 15 9/16 × 11 3/8 in. (39.5 × 28.9 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund, The Manfred Heiting Collection
Object number2002.1579
Not on view
Explore Further
Department
PhotographySpecial Collections
Object Type
In addition to the photographs he made for exhibitions,
Man Ray was a highly acclaimed fashion photographer, who published regularly in
Harper’s Bazaar,
Vogue, and
Vu. Here,
he portrays Nancy Cunard, daughter of a shipping magnate. Cunard became a poet,
biographer, and small press founder who published works by Samuel Beckett, Ezra
Pound, and Laura Riding. Her unique fashion choices reflected her bohemian
character.
ProvenanceEstate of the artist; [Galerie Octant, Paris]; [Galerie Rudolf Kicken, Cologne]; purchased by Manfred Heiting, September 4, 1982; purchased by MFAH, 2002.
Exhibition History"Exposition Internationale de la Photographie," Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 1932.
"Man Ray," Kunsthaus, Vienna, 1996.
"Man Ray, La Photographue à l'Envers," Centre Pompideau, Paris, 1998.
"Paris Photographs from the Manfred Heiting Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 17–October 6, 2002.
"Portraits from the Manfred Heiting Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 28–May 2, 2005.
"Twilight Visions: Surrealism, Photography, and Paris," Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, September 10, 2009–January 3, 2010; International Center of Photography, New York, January 29–May 9, 2010.
"Man Ray – Fotograf im Paris der Surrealisten," Max Ernst Museum Brühl des LVR, Germany, September 15–December 8, 2013.
"Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, June 23–September 22, 2019.
"Man Ray: The Paris Years," Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, October 30, 2021–February 21, 2022.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Signed in pencil, recto of mount, below lower right of sheet: Man Ray // Paris 1927
Stamped in black, verso of mount, center: MAN RAY // 31 bis, Rue // Campagne // Première // PARIS
Stamped in black, verso of mount, center: MAN RAY // 31 bis, Rue // Campagne // Première // PARIS
Signed in pencil, recto of mount, below lower right of sheet: Man Ray // Paris 1927
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky)
Designed 1971, made 1971-1974
Wood, enamel and plastic
2018.494
Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky)
1919–1920, printed 1970
Gelatin silver print
2002.2883
Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky)
1920, printed 1970
Gelatin silver print
2002.2882