Salvador Dali & Man Ray, Paris

Against a backdrop of posters peddling toothpaste, cheese, fabrics and other sundries, Salvador Dalì and Man Ray pose for the American critic and writer Carl Van Vechten in an ersatz publicity still. Van Vechten, whom had just launched a belated photographic career in his fifties, was especially drawn to rising stars of the cultural avant-garde (he was Gertrude Stein’s most fervent advocate) and Dalì and Man Ray fit the bill. Both artists were inextricably associated with Surrealism, even though they were sidelong associates—Man Ray never officially joined the group and Dalì had just survived temporary excommunication for apparent fascist leanings. While Van Vechten captures the duo in an optimistic stance, with Dalì enthusiastically pointing to unseen vistas, both artists would flee France after the German occupation six years later, travelling to America on the same ship.