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• Issue #194
• Article

On October 30th, the photography department of Soler y Llach will present an auction at 6 pm entitled "Man Ray, Collection d'Afflitto, New York", which will be the largest sale of photographs by Man Ray since 1995. The sale includes 144 lots with estimates from 2,000-150,000 euros. The photographs will be exhibited in Madrid, Paris and Barcelona, and can be seen on the auction house's website at: http://www.soleryllach.com .

The auction exhibition is as follows:

Madrid: October 17, 10 am-9 pm, Espacio Salesas, c/ Conde de Xiquena 8.

Paris: October 22-23, 10:30 am-7 pm, Sale VV, 3 Rue Rossini.

Barcelona: October 29, 9:30 am-1:30 pm and 3 pm-7 pm; October 30, 9:30 am-4 pm, Soler y Llach, c/ Beethoven, 13.

Auction itself: October 30, 6 pm.

The photographs--reportedly most are vintage--are mostly from the artist's early period of the 1920s, and focus on iconic subjects that define this unique artist. The collection was assembled by Camillo d'Afflitto over the last 30 years. The recurring themes of the work of Man Ray include: self-portraits, portraits of artists and creators, Man Ray's relationship and shared work with Marcel Duchamp, Dada, Surrealism, fashion photography, the body and architecture.

The collection's images also include many photographs of primitive African art that Man Ray observed and immortalized with his camera from the perspective of modern artwork and not as a mere object. Many of these images have appeared in the recent traveling exhibition "Man Ray: African Art and the Modernist Lens" in the United States.

Another important set in the collection are pictures of objects that Man Ray manipulated, ironically called "Objects of My Affection".

The top lot in the sale is, of course, the iconic 1926 image, Blanc et Noir, or Black and White, which is lot 55 and estimated at 150,000 euro.

The photographs were all collected by the gallery owner and collector Camillo d'Afflitto, (Florence, 1951-2009). D'Afflitto was interested in avant-garde artists, such as Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia. In 1981 he founded the contemporary art gallery Vivita in Florence. In 1987 the gallery became involved with the collection of Arturo Schwarz, who in the 1960s had brought to market much of the work of these artists. Later d'Afflitto put together the work and documentation of Francis Picabia, and maintained a close relationship with the heirs of all of these great Dada artists. He exhibited their work at major art fairs around the world including shows in Paris, Chicago, New York and Miami.

Pilar Parcerisas, critic, art historian and exhibition curator, wrote an extensive introduction to the catalogue which details the collection and d'Afflitto.

Juan Naranjo is the photography expert at Soler y LLach. His and the auction house's contact information is as follows: Soler y LLach, Beethoven, 13, 08021 Barcelona; Tel. (34) 932018733; Fax: (34) 9320233 06; email: syl@soleryllach.com . You can see the catalogue online or get it in pdf format at: http://www.soleryllach.com . Click on your language and select "Current Auctions". Then select the Man Ray auction.