Man Ray
Man Ray arrived in Paris in July 1921, where he found his true artistic milieu. Man Ray became a part of a remarkable generation of avant garde artists - Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia, Max Ernst, Gertrude Stein - who flourished in Paris between the two World Wars. He became a leading contributor to the scene with radical paintings and objects, but it was photography that gained him the reputation and a new kind of stature.
Man Ray's first exhibition in Paris was held at Philippe Soupault's Librarie Six gallery, and while it met with enthusiasm, he made no sales. To improve his finances, Man Ray turned to photography, which had served him since 1916 to record his own productions, and in his collaboration with Duchamp in New York. He set up at first a make-shift studio, photographing works of art, made portraits of friends and writers, but after the infamous Marquise Casati requested a portrait, he found his first celebrity and repeat client. In July 1922 Man Ray established himself in larger quarters at 31 bis rue Campagne-Premier.
Man Ray's reputation as photographer became integral to the Paris scene. His impact on society was resounding - and if one wanted to have a photographic portrait, the preferred sitting was with Man Ray. The competition was limited to Baron de Meyer and George Hoyninger-Huene, both active in elegant circles, but those who wanted an encounter with the avant garde, only Berenice Abbott, his former assistant was Man Ray's rival. Abbott, however, preferred to concentrate on the literary crowd, which positioned Man Ray as the premier photographer of the Paris social and artistic hierarchy. Sylvia Beach, owner of the bookstore, Shakespeare & Company, showcased many Man Ray portraits, and noted that "To be done by Man Ray meant one was rated as somebody".
After nearly 20 years of living in Paris, at the heart of the avant-garde art scene, Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitsky) returned to the United States when the outbreak of World War II profoundly changed life in his adopted city. In Paris, Man Ray had found his true artistic milieu among artists and writers, like Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, André Breton and Gertrude Stein, and had flourished. He became known for his radical paintings and objects, and especially for his photographs: experimental solarized prints and photograms, inspired by his Dada and Surrealist circle, as well as striking portraits.