James Joyce (Primary Title)
Man Ray, American, 1890 - 1976 (Artist)
Sylvia Beach, the American-born owner of the Shakespeare and Company bookstore and lending library in Paris, commissioned Man Ray to provide publicity photographs of James Joyce (1882-1941) for Ulysses, his dauntingly dense masterpiece. Published on February 2, 1922, the Irish writer’s fortieth birthday, Ulysses is arguably the most important novel of the 20th century. Smartly dressed in a tailored suit, dress shirt, and bow tie, Joyce displays an uneasy countenance in this photograph, gazing downward to avert his sensitive eyes from the bright glare of the studio lights. By looking down rather than directly at Man Ray’s camera, Joyce assumes an air of mystery and melancholy in this famous portrait.
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