Man Ray

American, 1890-1976

BiographyBorn Emmanuel Radnitzky, visionary artist Man Ray was the son of Jewish immigrants from Russia. His father worked as a tailor. The family moved to Brooklyn when Ray was a young child. From an early year, Ray showed great artistic ability. After finishing high school in 1908, he followed his passion for art; he studied drawing with Robert Henri at the Ferrer Center, and frequented Alfred Stieglitz's gallery 291. It later became apparent that Ray had been influenced by Stieglitz's photographs. After experimenting with a Cubist style of painting, he moved toward abstraction. Ray became a leading figure in the Dada movement in New York. Dadaism, which takes its name from the French nickname for a rocking horse.

In 1915, Man Ray met French artist Marcel Duchamp, and together they collaborated on many inventions and formed the New York group of Dada artists. In 1921, Ray moved to Paris and became associated with the Parisian Dada and Surrealist circles of artists and writers. His experiments with photography included rediscovering how to make "camera-less" pictures, which he called rayographs. Ray became famous for his portraits of his artistic and literary associates. He also developed a thriving career as a fashion photographer.

Ray fled the war in Europe and moved to California. Returning to Paris in 1951, Ray continued to explore different artistic media. He focused much of his energy on painting and sculpture. Branching out in a new direction, Ray began writing his memoir.

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