Questions about the Man Ray Show @ NPG

Question number 1 and 4 were asked by myself via Facebook and Twitter on Thursday 14th March.
The other two questions were asked by other people (Agnieszka Ajchel and Chris Wickes) during the Q&A session held on Facebook by the National Portrait Gallery.
The questions they asked seemed relevant to the topic I am focusing on so I decided to include them in my research.


1. Could you please describe the curatorial process for the Man Ray exhibition in 1 sentence/phrase?
The challenge was to find and gather together the best vintage prints of his most defining portrait subjects (this was done by researching the holdings of international and private collections over a 3-4 year period), and to celebrate this remarkable work by staging the exhibition and sharing our new research with the Gallery’s audiences through the exhibition interpretation, the catalogue and Gallery activities.

2.  Where did the idea for the exhibition come from? 
We have long wanted to stage a major retrospective of Man Ray’s work. The exhibition was originally proposed in 2006 as a continuation of the Gallery’s ongoing series of major exhibitions celebrating master portrait photographers. The series began in 1968 with our Beaton exhibition and has included retrospectives on photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Horst P. Horst and Annie Leibovitz.

3. Is there an argument for showing some of Man Rays wider work alongside his portraiture in an exhibition like this to give the portrait work a context, and perhaps help us to better understand the artist, could this be considered with future exhibitions? 
The exhibition content needed to be shaped by the Gallery’s very specific remit and specialism on portraiture. However, through the use of the showcase content in the exhibition, we’ve drawn out and discussed other aspects of his career to provide a wider context. We have also developed a varied lecture and events programme to examine and discuss how Man Ray’s photographs can be seen within the context of his life’s work. 

4. What are the aims and objectives of the MAN RAY exhibition?
 Part of ongoing series celebrating master portrait photographers & to gather best vintage prints & share our new research