Man Ray

Man Ray, born Emmanuel Radnitzky in South Philadelphia in 1890, was a pivotal figure in 20th-century art, known for his groundbreaking work across painting, photography, and object-making. The eldest child of Russian Jewish immigrants, he largely kept details of his early life private, even changing his surname from Radnitzky to Ray in 1912 due to prevalent antisemitism. Though he considered himself a painter above all, his innovative spirit led him to experiment widely, rej…