MAN RAY (1890-1976)

Lot 38
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Estimation :
4000 - 5000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 12 350EUR
MAN RAY (1890-1976)
Barbette, 1926 6 original gelatin-silver prints 9 x 12 cm each Barbette, 1926 6 original gelatin-silver prints 3.55 x 4.73 inch. each Note : Barbette Vander Clyde, known as Barbette, a famous American trapeze artist in drag, was very famous in the 1920s and 1930s. His act was considered one of the most beautiful of the music hall: at the end, he would step into the middle of the ring, and with a theatrical gesture remove his wig, proving to a stunned audience that he was a male transvestite. Cocteau, in an article dedicated to him for La Revue Française of July 1, 1926, expresses his gratitude to Barbette's act, for "his extraordinary lesson in theatrical craft". He also evokes in this article the phases of metamorphosis of his act, that Man Ray wanted to fix for him. After a fall in 1947, Barbette became an artistic director in many circuses and music halls, and also served as a consultant on a number of films, including Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot, where he advised Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in their transvestite scenes. Barbette Vander Clyde, known as Barbette, a famous American trapeze artist in drag, was very famous in the 1920s and 1930s. His act was considered one of the most beautiful of the music hall: at its conclusion, he would step out into the middle of the ring and with a theatrical gesture remove his wig, proving to a stunned audience that he was a male transvestite. Cocteau, in an article dedicated to him for La Revue Française of July 1, 1926, expresses his gratitude to Barbette's act, for "his extraordinary lesson in theatrical craft. He also evokes in this article the different phases of metamorphosis of his act, that Man Ray was happy to capture for him. After a fall in 1947, Barbette became an artistic director in many circuses and music halls, and also served as a consultant on a number of films, including Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot, where he advised Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in their transvestite scenes. Provenance: Collection Edmonde et Lucien Treillard, Paris Bibliography: - Vogue (French), fevers 1926, vol.7, n°2, p. 38 - Photographs by Man Ray, 1920 - Paris 1934, James Thrall Soby, 1934, ill. p. 84 (variant) - Man Ray, Jean Cocteau, Le numéro Barbette, Jacques Damase éditeur, 1980 - J.-H. Martin, Man Ray photographe, Paris, Philippe Sers,1981, p. 216 - Ronny van de Velde, Man Ray, 1890-1976, Antwerp, Albin Michel, 1994, n°234 - Man Ray, photographic retrospective, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, 1996-1997, pp. 94-95 (these copies) - C. Chéroux, Man Ray Portraits, Paris, Hollywood, Paris, Centre Pompidou, 2010, pp. 76-77 - Erin C. Garcia, Man Ray in Paris, Tate publishing, 2011, pp. 76 and 78 - T. Pepper, Man Ray Portraits, Fonds Mercator, National Portrait Gallery, London, 2013, n°50-51, pp. 78-79
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