Surrealist Painting artist Man Ray sent to silent film icon Louise Brooks goes to auction

If you've read the outstanding Barry Paris biography of Louise Brooks, then you likely know that the famed surrealist Man Ray once sent Louise Brooks a small painting. That painting has just gone to auction at Sothebys in New York City. (While the paining is on display at Sothebys gallery in NYC, the auction itself is also being held online. The link to the auction can be found HERE.)

According to the Sothebys' auction page, "Andrew Strauss and Timothy Baum of the Man Ray Expertise Committee have confirmed the authenticity of this work under reference 00468-P-2025 and that it will be included in the Catalogue of Paintings of Man Ray, currently in preparation."

Man Ray was something of a fan of Louise Brooks. According to the Paris biography, the artist "was struck by Brooks's face" when he saw it in magazines during the filming of  Prix de Beaute." And, he never forgot her. [To imagine one of the covers Man Ray might have seen, be sure and check out this gallery page of French magazine covers featuring Louise Brooks circa 1929 / 1930 on the Louise Brooks Society website.]

Louise Brooks' image on display in Paris in 1930

The artist and the actress met for the first time in late 1958, when Brooks was in Paris for a retrospective of her films. According to the Paris biography, "On one occasion, she met Man Ray, the surrealist artist-photographer, who had long admired her and soon sent her, upon her return to the States, one of his small abstractions." That painting hung on the wall of Brooks' bedroom apartment in Rochester, New York until the time of her death in 1985, when it was willed to her heirs. The Estate has had the painting in their possession these 40 years, and have now decided to sell it.

I've long wondered... why would a then very famous artist send a then somewhat forgotten silent film star one of his newest paintings? I think the answer is nostalgia, that he once was and may still have been somewhat smitten with Brooks - especially her look, and what she represented to the artist, not to mention her resemblance to his one-time paramour Alice Prin (aka Kiki de Montparnasse), who Man Ray described in his autobiography as "beautiful" and having "the hairdo then in fashion among the smart women, short cut with bangs low on the forehead." (Coincidentally, Man Ray and Kiki had one of their first dates in a movie theater, when they held hands. I wonder what film they saw?) As Robert Benayoun, a surrealist historian and the one-time editor of the French film magazine Positif  told Barry Paris, "The surrealists were always in love with her... Man Ray loved that kind of face and image."

(Left) A 1928 newspaper ad featuring a Man Ray flm and a Louise Brooks film,
and (Right) the lovely Kiki de Montparnasse

Here is a picture of the reverse of the painting, which is inscribed in the artist's hand, "for Louise Brooks a souvenir of Man Ray Paris 1958". To me, it is a somewhat curious inscription. This small but extravagant gift is described not as a souvenir of an occasion, or of a place, or of their meeting -- but as a souvenir of a person - the artist.

For more about "Louise Brooks and the Surrealists", be sure and check out a this page on the subject on the Louise Brooks Society website. 

Also, check out this earlier Louise Brooks Society blog, "The Indestructible Lee Miller and the Destructible Louise Brooks," from December 13th of last year. It details the time that a Man Ray film and a Louise Brooks film shared the same bill at the Ursulines theater (shown above) in Paris in 1928!

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2025. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

The Indestructible Lee Miller and the Destructible Louise Brooks

Lee Miller and Louise Brooks, Louise Brooks and Lee Miller -- the artist and the actress, the actress and the artist. Should you know their lives, the two women at least a few things in common -- including a vulnerability. Though it is unlikely they ever met, it is likely Lee Miller was aware of  Louise Brooks.

Carolyn Burke, in her stellar 2006 biography of the artist, writes, "Breaking free of conventional roles for women, whether in traditional or avant-garde circles, Lee Miller stirred up trouble for herself and for those who loved her. Like screenwriter Anita Loos and actress Louise Brooks (whose careers she followed), she helped reshape women's aspirations through her embrace of popular culture . . . ."

Lee Miller                                         and                            Louise Brooks

We know, for example, that Miller saw Brooks dance when both were still teenagers. The occasion was a performance by the Denishawn Dance Company -- of which Brooks was a member, in Poughkeepsie, New York in January, 1923. Miller grew up in Poughkeepsie, and when the famed dance troupe came to town, Miller -- herself then an aspiring dancer, insisted she attend.

Before she left for Europe, Miller modeled and did a bit of dancing in New York City. (As did Brooks.) Once in Paris, Miller came into contact with Man Ray, a key member of the Surrealist group. The aspiring photographer and the established photographer drew close, and collaborated as artists. Miller was drawn into the surrealist circle, and soon befriended with many of its leading members, such as Picasso and Jean Cocteau. 

One of the Surrealist hang-outs in Paris was the Ursulines theater, "one of the oldest cinemas in Paris to have kept its facade and founder's vision" as a venue for art and experimental cinema. The Ursulines opened in 1926 with films by André Breton, Man Ray, Fernand Léger, René Clair and Robert Desnos. In 1928, it premiered the first film by Germaine Dulac, The Seashell and the Clergyman, from a story by Antonin Artaud. Another film that debuted at the Ursulines was A Girl in Every Port, which the noted writer Blaise Cendrars called "the first appearance of contemporary cinema". It was a big hit, and was seen by many French intellectuals, including Jean Paul Sartre.

Louise Brooks was especially popular in Paris, and in 1929 and 1930, she must have seemed to have been everywhere. The actress was widely written about in the French capital's many newspapers and magazines. Her image, as well, was also everywhere. Shown below is a picture of Brooks' portrait on display in the window of a photographer's studio in Paris in 1930, around the time her one and only French film, Prix de beauté, was in production.

Prix de beauté was in production between August 29 through September 27, 1929, and debuted at the famous Max-Linder Pathe on May 9, 1930. With a popular American film star in an important French production (one of the first French sound films), Prix de beauté was BIG NEWS. Prix de beauté was also a huge success, and it went on to enjoy a three month run in various theaters. After two months at the Max-Linder (and for part of that time also at the historic Lutetia-Pathe to accommodate the crowds), the film moved to the Folies Dramatiques, where it was advertised as an "immense success" and would play for nearly a month. This extended run was at a time when most films played only a few days or a week.

Remarkably, the successful run of Prix de beauté took place at a time when another of Brooks' films, the German production Diary of a Lost Girl (Trois Pages D'un Journal), was also playing in the French capital, at the Au Colisee. (It was also shown at the Rialto and Splendide theatres in 1930.) As was the 1928 film, Beggars of Life (Les mendiants de la vie), at the Clichy-Palace in March of the same year. Like today, films were advertised in the newspaper, and on one occasion, the two film's respective advertisements sat side-by-side.

Diary of a Lost Girl would be revived in Paris throughout 1930. It was even shown at the Ursulines theater in November of that year as part of a trippple bill. As shown below, the evening's program begins with G.W. Pabst's Joyless Street, followed by Howard Hawk's A Girl in Every Port, starring Brooks, followed by G.W. Pabst's Diary of a Lost Girl, also starring Brooks!

The Ursulines was not only the Surrealist's favored movie theater, it was also an important venue which debuted important films which found favor with the cognoscenti. In December of 1930, Diary of a Lost Girl and Josef von Sternberg's The Blue Angel shared what must have been a memorable bill. 

We know now that Man Ray was something of a fan of Louise Brooks. When the artist and the actress first met, in  late 1958, Man Ray recounted how he had seen her image in Paris years before. Perhaps he had first seen Louise Brooks in 1928, when A Girl in Every Port shared the bill with a short Man Ray film, L'Etoile de Mer, at the Ursulines during the months of October, November, and December. L'Etoile de Mer (The Starfish) was scripted by the surrealist poet Robert Desnos and features Desnos and Alice Prin. Better known as Kiki de Montparnasse, Prin (Man Ray's one-time paramour) famously sported Louise Brooks-like bobbed hair and bangs. Perhaps Man Ray had a "type". Anyways....

Man Ray was fond enough of Brooks that after their 1958 meeting he sent her a small abstract painting in memory of their meeting and in memory of his memory of her. Here is a picture of the reverse of the painting, which goes to auction in 2025.

I mention Brooks' popularity in Paris and the various documented screenings of her films around 1930 because I wonder if Lee Miller might have seen one or two of Brooks films -- most notably Diary of a Lost Girl. The picture of Brooks shown at the beginning of this blog is a still from G.W. Pabst's second 1929 masterpiece with Brooks, Diary of a Lost Girl. It is remarkably similar to the portrait of Lee Miller. (Admittedly, I am not certain if the image of Lee Miller is by Miller or Man Ray -- or both.)

In case you are not aware, a film about Lee Miller, titled Lee, has recently been release. It stars Kate Winslet. I am looking forward to seeing it. For more on Lee Miller, be sure and check out either Carolyn Burke's Lee Miller: A Life or Antony Penrose's The Lives of Lee Miller. The latter was written by Lee Miller's son.

If you are interested in the many lives of Lee Miller, I would also recommend this YouTube video recording of a lecture Antony Penrose gave 9 years ago. It is informative and visually rich. (I was fortunate to have seen Penrose speak some years ago at the San Francisco Silent Museum of Modern Art. As a fan of Man Ray, Lee Miller, the surrealists, and Antony Penrose's Father, Roland Penrose -- that was a thrill.)

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Louise Brooks and the Surrealists

"Louise Brooks is the only woman who had the ability to transfigure no matter what film into a masterpiece. The poetry of Louise is the great poetry of rare loves, of magnetism, of tension, of feminine beauty as blinding as ten galaxial suns. She is much more than a myth, she is a magical presence, a real phantom, the magnetism of the cinema." -- Ado Kyrou, author of  Le Surréalisme Au Cinéma (1963)

 It is known that the Surrealists took notice of Louise Brooks. She had the look - a bit transgressive (though they didn't use that word back then), and strikingly beautiful, but in an iconic, modern sense. It's known that Philipe Soupault, the French Surrealist poet, mentioned the actress in his journalism and even reviewed Diary of a Lost Girl. (A couple of images of the actress adorn the poet's collected writings on the cinema, Ecrits de cinema 1918-1931.) 

Kiki of Montparnasse

It's also known that Man Ray was smitten by the actress. His paramour in the 1920s, Kiki of Montparnasse, resembled Brooks. Man Ray first noticed Brooks in Paris in 1929 and 1930, when she was all the rage and her films, Prix de Beaute, Loulou, Diary of a Lost Girl, and Beggars of Life dominated Parisian screens. The photographer and the film star met in Paris in late 1958, when Brooks was being celebrated at the Cinematheque Francaise; at the time, Man Ray recounted how he had seen her image in Paris years before. The artist was fond enough of Brooks that he sent her a small painting in memory of their meeting and in memory of his memory.

The Louise Brooks film that might well have introduced the actress to the Surrealist was likely A Girl in Every Port, which writer Blaise Cendrars called "the first appearance of contemporary cinema". The film debuted in Paris at the Ursulines. The Ursulines theatre opened in 1926 with films by André Breton, Man Ray, Fernand Léger, René Clair and Robert Desnos, and over the years, showed both mainstream and experimental cinema. At one point, the theatre also showed G.W. Pabst's Diary of a Lost Girl, which starred Brooks and also enjoyed a successful run in Paris.

Perhaps Man Ray also saw A Girl in Every Port at the Ursulines when it shared the bill with a short Man Ray film, L'Etoile de Mer, during the months of October, November, and December of 1928. L'Etoile de Mer (The Starfish) was scripted by the surrealist poet Robert Desnos and stars Desnos and Alice Prin. Better known as Kiki de Montparnasse, Prin famously sported Louise Brooks-like bobbed hair and bangs.  

The pairing in Paris of A Girl in Every Port with a Surrealist film was not a one-time thing. Something similar also took place in Barcelona, Spain -- as seen in the advertisement below when A Girl in Every Port (under the Catalonian title Una xicota a cada port) was paired with the Salvador Dali - Luis Bunuel film, Le Chein Ansalou (An Andalusian Dog). Notably, A Girl in Every Port is described as an avant-garde film.

I have written about the Surrealists and Brooks before, but mention it again because I have just today come across another connection - this time to Salvador Dali. If I understand it correctly, the Spanish book, Por qué se ataca a la gioconda? (Ediciones Siruela, 1994), collects Salvador Dali's miscellaneous writings. (The book was reissued by Ediciones Siruela in 2003.) According to the publisher: "From the early years, and especially in the moments of greatest creativity - between 1924 and 1945 -, Dalí worked in parallel in the fields of literature and painting, which together contribute to the creation of a universe of shapes and symbols that he will not leave until the end of his days. The texts collected in this anthology correspond to different times that go from 1927 to 1978; they were published in the French magazine Oui and this edition rescues them in their entirety. The chronological order of the articles makes it easier to follow the evolution of the artist's ideas. His obsessions are his main thematic source: eroticism, death and rot, which articulate a very peculiar universe appearing recurrently throughout his life. . . . In his writings he mixes philosophical ideas with seemingly irrelevant anecdotes and is also concerned with surrealism and some of its problems, such as object, automatism or dream, without neglecting other topics such as photography and cinema." 

Por qué se ataca a la gioconda? contains a piece written in Paris in 1929. It is a surreal piece, touching on factual and the dreamlike. Dali's piece reads in part, "Transcurren dos minutos de intervalo. Sobre la hoja cae un granito de arena que permanece inmovil en el centro di la hoja. Los cinco minutos expiran sin otra modificacion. Rene Clair, el realizador del popular film de vanguardia Entr'acte, ha comenzado a filmar Prix de beaute, con Louise Brooks. Sera una peli cula documental sobre el desnudo de Louise Brooks. Rene Magrite acaba de terminnar un lienzo donde "hay" un personaje que se encuentra a punto de perder la memoria, un grito de pajaro, un armario y un paisaje."

In translation, it reads, "Two minutes apart. A grain of sand falls on the leaf and remains motionless in the center of the leaf. The five minutes expire without further modification. Rene Clair, the director of the popular avant-garde film Entr'acte, has begun filming Prix de beaute, starring Louise Brooks. It will be a documentary film about Louise Brooks' nude. Rene Magrite has just finished a canvas where "there is" a character who is about to lose his memory, a bird's cry, a closet and a landscape."

I will end this post with a chance discovery from a while back of an article about Beggars of Life (as Captaires de Vida) which by chance rests next to an article about Dali (pictured center of page). It comes from a Catalonian newspaper.

I wonder if any of the Surrealists wrote any poems about Louise Brooks? Does anyone know? I know they wrote about Charlie Chaplin.

Man Ray, Lee Miller, William S. Paley and Louise Brooks

File this under "all roads lead to Louise Brooks:" The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are currently hosting the exhibit "Man Ray | Lee Miller: Partners in Surrealism" (through October 14) at the Legion of Honor. And forthcoming is "The William S. Paley Collection: A Taste for Modernism" (September 15 - December 30, 2012) at the M.H. de Young Museum.

Curiously, both of these exhibits bear a relationship with Louise Brooks. Man Ray, for one, long admired Louise Brooks; it was an admiration which likely dated from her brief celebrity in Paris in 1930. Later in life, he sent an admiring letter and small painting to the former actress. His lover, Lee Miller, also had a close encounter with Brooks. As a teenager, Miller saw Brooks dance while Brooks was a member of the Denishawn Dance Company. 

William S. Paley, founder of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), was a leader in communication, entertainment, and broadcast journalism. His innovations in radio programming and advertising, his  commitment to entertainment and news dissemination, and his acute awareness of popular trends revolutionized broadcasting’s business model, and set new standards in broadcast journalism. He also secretly supported Louise Brooks, giving her a monthly stipend, while she was living in her later years in Rochester, New York. He did so because he and Brooks had likely been lovers back in the 1920s.