Cadeau gift man ray biography

Sculpture by Man Ray

The Gift (Le Cadeau in French) is a readymade sculpture by Man Ray, consisting of an iron with fourteen thumb tacks glued to its sole.

An iconic work of the Dada movement, it was created spontaneously and exhibited at the opening of Ray's first solo show in Paris, at Phillippe Soupault's Galerie Six on December 3, 1921. The original is lost but its concept survives through later reproductions created or sanctioned by the artist.^[1]

In his memoirs Ray recalled how the eccentric French composer Erik Satie, a devoted fan of avant-garde art, played a pivotal role in the work's creation:

"A strange voluble little man in his fifties came over to me and led me to one of my paintings...I was tired with the preparations of the opening, the gallery had no heat, I shivered and said in English that I was cold.

He replied