Woman Ray

From Lee Miller to Kiki de Montparnasse, a panorama of Man Ray's portrayals of women

A portraitist and fashion photographer by profession, and an artist by inclination, Man Ray (1890-1976) found the female form to be one of his principal inspirations. Models, muses, companions, students and colleagues such as Berenice Abbott, Lee Miller, Meret Oppenheim, Nusch Éluard, Kiki de Montparnasse, Dora Maar and Juliet represented a universe of relationships as diverse as they were crucial in the evolution of his life and his art. Some of these women were great artists; others were central figures in the cultural history of the era, as revealed in this volume edited by Walter Guadagnini and Giangavino Pazzola, who have created a dialogue among more than 100 masterpieces by the American artist―a true icon of 20th-century photography―and some of the women who played prominent roles in an extraordinary period in the art world.