Man Ray Portraits by Terence Pepper


Man Ray Portraits
Title : Man Ray Portraits
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 1855144433
ISBN-10 : 9781855144439
Language : English
Format Type : Hardcover
Number of Pages : 224
Publication : First published January 1, 2013

The artist May Ray (1890-1976) initially taught himself photography in order to reproduce his own works of art, but it became one of his preferred mediums. As a contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements in Paris during the 1920s, Man Ray was perfectly placed to make defining images of his avant-garde contemporaries, including Jean Cocteau, Peggy Guggenheim, and Gertrude Stein. Man Ray also photographed his friends and lovers, among them Kiki de Montparnasse (Alice Prin), Lee Miller, who helped him discover the solarization printing process, and Ady Fidelin. Man Ray continued to take portrait photographs throughout his career, including little-known images from 1940s Hollywood, and of stars such as Ava Gardner and Catherine Deneuve taken during the 1950s and 1960s.

An essential reference on Man Ray's life and work, this book includes an introduction by Terence Pepper and essay by Marina Warner exploring the artist's creativity and appetite for innovation and experimentation. Complete with first-hand testimonies from the artist's sitters and over 200 beautifully reproduced images, this handsome volume provides a survey of the finest portraits from one of the most inventive photographic artists of the 20th century.

Man Ray Portraits Reviews

  • E. G.

    Director's Foreword, by Sandy Nairne
    Curator's Preface and Acknowledgements, by Terence Pepper

    Introduction: Icons of Modern Life, by Marina Warner

    --Man Ray in Print, Terence Pepper

    --Plates

    --Chronology, Helen Trompeteler

    Further Reading
    Picture Credits
    Index

  • Martyn

    I'm fairly addicted to Man Ray's photography, there is a stunning contemporaneity about his photos that I don't see duplicated quite so often in other photographers of the same era. In this collection for example the portrait of Iris Tree from 1923 (26 if you have the book) looks like it could have been taken last week, it's so fresh. Similarly Lee Miller from 1929 (75) looks like a modern film still. The man (joke intended) was way ahead of his time as far as technique, aesthetics and pose were concerned - I never get tired of his work.

  • Gary

    This is the catalogue published in association with the 2013 Man Ray exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London. It collects more than 200 of Man Ray's now-iconic portraits of his astonishing circle of friends, lovers, and avant-garde contemporaries, including Marcel Duchamp, Jean Cocteau, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, Kiki de Montparnasse, Lee Miller, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Dora Maar, Ava Gardner, Juliet Greco, and Catherine Deneuve. It also includes an introduction by Terence Pepper (curator of photographs at the National Portrait Gallery) and an insightful essay by Marina Warner (professor in the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies at the University of Essex) exploring Man Ray’s contributions to the Dada and Surrealist movements in Paris during the 1920s.

  • JP

    Page after page of wonderful photos, shots of everyone from Hemingway to Cocteau, Ava Gardner to Lee Miller. Over 200 stunning photos spanning from the early 20s through the 60s. Man Ray takes anything from simple portraits to artsy, avant-garde masterpieces, the breadth of his work showcased here easily illustrates his themes and technique variations and the progression of them.

    I've never realized how much I enjoy photography and especially portraits. I hate being in photos but like looking at them. Go figure.

  • Andrea Engle

    Amazing, iconic photographic portraits by a true master, Man Ray (Michael Emmanuel Radnitzky) ... fabulous, full-page plates of some of the most well-know figures of the 1920's and 1930's taken by the artist, usually in the studio ... includes some fashion shots originally for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar ... plus group portraits of the Surrealists and Dadaists ...

  • H

    Lee Miller should really be listed as co-artist, but I digress.