A Man Ray Photo May Shatter Records When It Hits Auction This May
The image depicts his muse, Kiki de Montparnasse, with violin f-holes on her back.
Man Ray was an American visual artist who spent much of his career living and working in Paris. Amongst his achievements, he was an integral member of the Dada and Surrealist movements and was particularly fond of photography and how it allowed him to be free “from the sticky medium of paint,” opting to work “with light itself.”
This May, Christie’s will present Ray’s Le Violon d’Ingres (1924), which if sold at its estimated price between $5-7m USD, will become the most expensive photograph ever sold at auction. The image features Ray’s muse, Kiki de Montparnasse, who is depicted sitting shirtless wearing a headdress with violin f-holes on her back.
Considered by experts as an original photographic copy, the work is in possession of New York collectors Rosalind Gersten Jacobs and Melvin Jacobs, who acquired the piece from Ray back in 1962. Le Violon d’Ingres (1924) will be on auction this May at Christie’s New York, along with a lot of work from artists, such as René Magritte and William N. Copley.
Elsewhere, Phillips launches “My Kawaii Valentine” NFT auction.
