Acquired from the artist circa 1971

Paris, Galerie Jeanne Bucher, Les Dessins de Man Ray, 1937, n.n.
London, The London Gallery, Man Ray, Surrealist Paintings, Drawings, Objects, 1939, one of nos. 36-95
Princeton, University Art Museum, Man Ray, Drawings, Watercolors, Rayograms, Chess Sets, Books, Objects, 1963, n.n., (no. 6 of the Mains Libres drawings)
London, Serpentine Gallery, Man Ray, 1995, no. 2
Nice, Musée d'art moderne et d'art contemporain, Man Ray, Rétrospective 1912-1976, 1997, n.n., illustrated p. 122

Paul Éluard, Les Mains Libres, Dessins illustrés par le poèmes de Paul Éluard, Paris, 1937, p. 147
Arturo Schwarz, Man Ray, The Rigour of Imagination, London, 1977, fig. 64, illustrated p. 90

Executed on white wove paper, not laid down. The sheet is hinged to the mount at two points along the verso of the upper edge. The sheet is lightly time-darkened. Remnants of old framers tape on perimeter of verso. A few faint scattered pindots of foxing, otherwise fine. This work is in good condition.
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This drawing is one of several from the Les Mains Libres series to feature the motif of an enlarged, mysterious hand. Executed in the build-up to World War II and in the aftermath of Guernica, La Peur is a poignant expression of the artist’s anxiety, evoking the controlling hand of an aggressor and the exposed vulnerability of its cowering victim. Man Ray chose to sign this drawing using a geometrical diagram, highlighting the convergence of art and science at time when technological advances were being used in preparation for the unfolding global conflict. The figure of the woman, reduced to a subservient object, echoes his photograph La Prière of 1930 which also provocatively juxtaposed hands with nudity. Éluard’s accompanying poem eloquently captures the foreboding theme of hunter and prey:

Fourrure rouge
Au seuil friand de l'animal
La proie s'affole 

Pont brûlé
Bras faible
Bâton brisé

Chevelure pleine de terre
Menace insupportable
Tombe meurtrière

Le visage s’ouvre
Il laisse voir une femme qui s’ennuie

- Paul Éluard