Lise Deharme (Primary Title)
Man Ray, American, 1890 - 1976 (Artist)
In the summer of 1935, Man Ray began shooting a Surrealist film at the Château de Montfleury in Montfort-en-Chalosse in southwestern France. This country house, which Man Ray described as “a rambling affair, filled with strange objects and old rococo furniture,” was owned by the French writer Lise Deharme (1898–1980), who edited the short-lived Surrealist review La Phare de Neuilly (The Neuilly Beacon). Based on a scenario by André Breton and Paul Éluard, Man Ray’s film attempted to simulate delirium but ultimately ended in failure when Breton grew bored with his acting role, lost his temper, and refused to have anything more to do with the project. Man Ray also encountered problems with his movie-camera equipment and was forced to end the film abruptly before it could be finished. All that remains of this abandoned project is a page of seven film stills and their enigmatic captions, which were published in Cahiers d’Art magazine. The photographs included this portrait of Lise Deharme wearing a star-spangled dress, pearls, and a handmade hat topped with a long, spindly twig.
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