Man Ray to Arne Ekstrom, 1963

The Man Ray letters contain correspondence from Man Ray to Mr. Arne Ekstrom, a Manhattan art dealer, collector, and gallery owner, as well as one letter from Mr. Ekstrom to Man Ray. The collection includes a Man Ray exhibition poster from the Cordier and Ekstrom Gallery, Mr. Ekstrom's gallery, April 30, 1963 - May 18, 1963. The collection also contains three postcards from Man Ray to Mr. Ekstrom. The correspondence falls between 1963 and 1975, including one undated correspondence on a bookmark from Man Ray. Most of Man Ray's letters are written from his home in France to Mr. Ekstrom in New York City.

In the letters to Mr. Ekstrom, Man Ray discusses business matters such as selling and loaning his art, coordinating art with Mr. Ekstrom for exhibitions, depositing money from sales, and brainstorming ideas for new pieces, shows, and catalogs of his work. Additionally, Man Ray mentions Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) numerous times in his letters to Mr. Ekstrom, including mentions of a vacation they went on together in 1965, their fondness of observing chess games, and of Duchamp’s passing in 1968. Man Ray wrote frequently (spanning many years) about his painting Le Beau Temps (1939) to Mr. Ekstrom discussing its value, interested buyers, and his desired price for it.