Man Ray
Self-Portrait with Friends in the Summer of 1937 (From left to right: Paul Éluard, Marie Cuttoli, Léon Blum, Nusch Éluard, and Man Ray), 1937
Signed with the artist's monogram 'MR' and dated '1937' (center left); stamped with the photographer's credits 'MAN RAY 8 Rue de Val-de-grace Paris 5ᵉ - France Danton 92-25' and annotated '15,' 'me - Man Ray,' 'Nusch Eluard,' 'Leon Blum,' 'mme Cuttoli-' and 'Eluard' (on the verso)
Vintage silver print
8.9 by 14 cm (3½ by 5½ in.)
69109
© Man Ray 2015 Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / ADAGP, Paris 2023
In this group portrait, Man Ray can be seen with Paul Éluard, Marie Cuttoli, Léon Blum, and Nusch Éluard. Though he adopted a personally apolitical attitude, this eclectic cohort is...
In this group portrait, Man Ray can be seen with Paul Éluard, Marie Cuttoli, Léon Blum, and Nusch Éluard. Though he adopted a personally apolitical attitude, this eclectic cohort is evidence of Man Ray’s ability to mesh with the political elite, with French Prime Minister Léon Blum pictured in the center of the image. Cuttoli, who owned gallery and design house Maison Myrbor, was married to Paul Cuttoli, a Radical Socialist senator, which may provide some explanation of how this group was assembled.