The
second acquisition is an embossed leather and
faux bois portfolio published by Jean-Luc Mercié that contains eight black-and-white photographs taken by Gianfranco Baruchello of Marcel Duchamp inspecting his monumental work,
La mariée mise à nu par ses célibataires, même (also known as the
Large Glass or
Grand Verre), in the galleries of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1966. The portfolio is accompanied by a unique illustrated datebook Man Ray purchased in 1953 and used as a notebook, detailing his thoughts on various aspects of the art world, including remarks on his friend Duchamp. The notebook also contains entries that are likely the early working notes for Man Ray's 1963 autobiography,
Self-Portrait.
The agendas and their accompanying cache of letters, photographs, and publications greatly enhance the existing Man Ray collections at the Research Institute and the Getty Museum's Department of Photographs. Likewise, the portfolio and notebook add to the already strong Dada and Surrealist collection at the Research Institute, and bridge its prominent Duchamp and Man Ray holdings.