27 August 1890 – 18 November 1976, was an American-born, French-naturalized visual artist working across photography, painting, film, and object art. Born in Philadelphia as Emmanuel Radnitzky, he grew up in New York and initially trained as a painter. In the 1910s he became involved with the New York avant-garde and was associated with the Dada movement before relocating to Paris in 1921, where he remained for most of his career and became closely linked to Surrealism.

In Paris he developed a central role within the artistic circles of the interwar period, working alongside figures such as Marcel Duchamp and producing portraits of artists, writers, and performers. His photographic practice combined commercial and experimental work, including fashion photography for magazines and innovative darkroom techniques. He is particularly known for cameraless photograms, which he called “rayographs,” and for the use of solarization, both of which contributed to expanding the expressive possibilities of photography.

Alongside photography, he produced experimental films such as Le Retour à la raison (1923) and Emak-Bakia (1926), as well as objects and assemblages that reflect Dada and Surrealist strategies. During the Second World War he returned to the United States, living in Los Angeles, before settling again in Paris in 1951. Over several decades, he published photographic portfolios and books that brought together his images and ideas, reinforcing his position within modern art and photography.

His work played a significant role in shaping twentieth-century photographic practice, particularly through its integration of experimentation, portraiture, and the interplay between commercial and avant-garde production.

Reference
Biography text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), English edition. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_Ray