Self Portrait, 1924 (printed c. 1960)
Silver gelatin print
9 3/4h x 7w inches

Estimate: €10,000 - 15,000

Madrid, Paris & Berlin, 2007-10, p. 69
Tokyo, 2010, no. 38

Rome, 1975, p. 121
Baum, 1989, pl. 23 (négatif intact)
Vienne, 1996-97, fig. 2 (négatif intact)
Nice, 1997, p. 158 (négatif intact)
Durozoi, 1997, p. 37
Baum, 1998, pl. 23 (négatif intact)
Bourgeade, 2007, n.p. (ce tirage)
Brühl, 2013, p. 81 (négatif intact)

This print is in very good general condition. With irregular surface coating, with a few very light handling marks near the right corners visible in raking light only and with a light vertical crease of approx. 6 cm. near the right edge.
"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."

Taken in 1924, the year of the founding of the Surrealist group, this self portrait is arguably among the most revered of all the portraits the artist made of himself. It is widely published, despite the breakage of the glass negative early on. While vintage photographs printed from the unbroken negative are exceedingly rare (one of was sold in the first auction of works form Man Ray’s studio at Sotheby’s, London, 22-23 March 1995, lot 2), Man Ray continued to use this self portrait frequently, depicting himself as a determined, evolving artist at the birth of Surrealism.

It is noteworthy that the glass breakage is a motif shared with Marcel Duchamp, whose seminal painting on glass, La Mariée mise à nu par ses célibataires, meme (The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even, 1915-1923, Philadelphia Museum of Art), declared by the artist to be “definitively unfinished”, broke beyond repair in 1927, just as Man Ray’s important painting on glass Dancer, Danger (1920, Centre Pompidou, Paris) broke in 1968. In each instance, including the present print taken from a copy negative of the broken negative, Man Ray and Duchamp readily accepted the breakage as part of the transient nature of art, whereby the work instantly becomes a variant of itself. The present print was probably made in preparation for a limited-edition publication La Lune en rodage I (Carl Laszlo, Editions Panderma, Basel, 1960).