One of Duchamp's close friends and a member of the New York Dada scene, the American photographer and painter Man Ray (1890-1976) was also one of Duchamp's collaborators. His photograph Dust Breeding (Duchamp's Large Glass with Dust Motes) from 1920 is a document of The Large Glass after it had collected a year's worth of dust while Duchamp was in New York. The photograph was taken with a two-hour-long exposure that beautifully captures the complex texture and diversity of materials that lay atop the glass surface. Dust Breeding marks a pivotal phase in the development of Duchamp's masterpiece. After the photograph was taken, Duchamp wiped The Large Glass almost entirely clean, leaving a section of the cones covered with dust, which he permanently affixed to the glass plate with a diluted cement.

• Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

  Inscription: Inscribed in ink on the print, recto BLC: "7/10"; BC: "Marcel Duchamp"; BRC: "Man Ray 1920"; inscribed in ink on the print, verso BRC: "Photo Coll. Man Ray 1920"

• Provenance

  David Hayes
  
  

• Timeline of Art History (2000–present)
  Thematic Essays

  Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968)

  Photography and Surrealism

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  The United States and Canada, 1900 A.D.–present