Frida & Hans Richter, Southbury, Connecticut (a gift from the artist)
Thence by descent to the present owner

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Man Ray, 1966, no. 165, illustrated in the catalogue
Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen; Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne & Humlebæk, Louisiana Museum, Man Ray, 1971-72, no. 183 (no. 176 in Humlebæk)

Man Ray, Oggetti d'affezione, Turin, 1970, fig. 85, illustrated
Arturo Schwarz, Man Ray. The Rigour of Imagination, London, 1977, fig. 306, illustrated p. 176
Jean-Hubert Martin, Brigitte Hermann & Rosalind Krauss, Objets de mon affection, Man Ray. Sculpture et objets, catalogue raisonné, Paris, 1983, no. 116, illustrated p. 101

The back of the book binding is attached to the mount. The mask is attached to the book binding with a small area of restorer's tape. There are some scattered spots of staining and handling marks along the spine and overall surface dirt to the book binding. There is a 5mm. hairline crack, with associated creasing to the nostril of the mask. Apart from some overall staining and wear to the two pieces of fabric, this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall the colours are slightly deeper in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Throughout his career, Man Ray had a typically Surrealist habit of experimenting with different mediums and the repetition of certain themes and subjects. This unique object, entitled Reliure in reference to the illusory book atop which the painted female mask sits, blindfolded by a strip of leather. The subject is Aline et Valcour, the politically charged novel by the Marquis de Sade, whose writings had a profound impact on Surrealist imagery. As Man Ray recalled in his autobiography, "is in my opinion the most important because all political questions are treated in it with very little pornography... Sade represented complete and absolute liberty."

Man Ray had previously treated the subject in a variety mediums and compositions, beginning with the 1930 photograph of a similar blindfolded female head resting on a book under a glass dome. In 1950, he made the great Surrealist painting, Aline et Valcour (see: Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale, Sotheby's, London, 5th February 2008, lot 61), where he again paints the woman's head, coupled with a wooden artist's mannequin lying prostrate between two geometric shapes, a composition which also began as a photograph. Man Ray fully explores this subject by re-interpreting it in so many different contexts and mediums.

The present object, dating from 1953, is striking by its three-dimensionality. It develops Man Ray's fascination with masks and their ability to hide the identity of the wearer and preserve anonymity. In this way, Man Ray explores many of the principal themes of Sade's novel, which describes a totalitarian society in which women are completely subjugated to the will of men. Coming as it does just a few years after the end of World War II, the present object makes a patent reference Sade's historical context of the French Revolution, and even more in the blindfolded head reminding the viewer of the guillotine.

Man Ray gave the present work fellow avant-garde artist Hans Richter, a testament to their great friendship. Most noted for his involvement with Zurich Dada, Richter was an important and accomplished film-maker, and collaborated with Man Ray in 1947 on the film Dreams That Money Can Buy.