Page 55 - Swann Galleries - Fine Photographs - Sale 2304 - February 26, 2013

35 ● MAN RAY (1890-1976)
Marcel Duchamp’s “A Regarder d’Un Oeil, De Prés Pendant Presque Une Heure.” Real photo
postcard (carte-postale), overall dimensions 51/4x31/2 inches (13.3x8.9 cm.), with Duchamp’s credit,
the title, and copyright “S©A,” printed on recto and “Société Anonyme Inc., 19 East 47th Street,
N.Y.” printed on verso. 1920 [15,000/25,000]
From the Collection of Emma Richardson Cherry, a painter and charter member of The Société Anonyme.
AlthoughAlfred Stieglitz may be credited with introducing modern art to anAmerican audience, the Société Anonyme
(i.e., "Corporation Incorporated"), elevated the appreciation of avant garde art through its programs of exhibitions
and lectures. Co-founded by Marcel Duchamp,Man Ray, and Katherine Dreier, an arts patron and artist, in 1920,
the Société collected and displayed paintings, collages, sculptures, and photographs by a wide-ranging group of artists
that reflected the experimental nature of modernism.Artworks by well-known American and European figures were
displayed alongside those by those by lesser known, and in some cases, outsider artists. Nevertheless, regardless of
whether a work was by Duchamp or Walmar Shwab, these wonderfully curious constructions and artworks were
embraced by critics, curators, and private collectors, and popular taste was also influenced over time.