Man Ray
Café Man Ray
Date 1948
Medium Metal shovel, oil on wood
Dimensions 44.5 x 21.7 cm
Inventory ID UID 102-471
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For his solo exhibition To be Continued Unnoticed, at the Copley Gallery in Beverly Hills in December 1948, Man Ray recreated a Parisian cafe in the garden and patio of the gallery. Visitors had to knock on the door to enter. This small sugar spoon or child’s shovel functioned as a knocker. The opening was considered, at the time, to be a kind of happening. In 1973, various copies of this original were produced – creating an edition of nine with three artist’s proofs. AC
Bill Copley; Galerie 1900-2000, Paris; acquired in 1997.