Experimenting in his darkroom he placed objects on light-sensitive paper to create his signature artform—the “rayograph”—which Jean Cocteau aptly described as “paintings with light.” 2 Working with muse and protégé Lee Miller, Man Ray used the process of solarization to create stunning portraits, nudes and still-lifes in which subjects circumscribed by shadowy lines appear to radiate a heavenly light.

In addition to his studio practice, Man Ray worked on and off as a fashion photographer for magazines including Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. Even while making photographs within a commercial context, Man Ray introduced elements of his avant-garde style including double exposures, multiple shadows, severed limbs, masks, and veils. Some of the artist’s most iconic images—like the portrait of Kiki de Montparnasse next to a wooden African mask (Noir et blanc, 1926)—were first published in fashion magazines.

Over the course of more than half a century, Man Ray produced a materially and conceptually varied body of work that remains influential to this day.