The Edmonde and Lucien Treillard Collection: Man Ray and His Fellow Surrealists

Lucien Treillard was far more than Man Ray's assistant: he was his last collaborator, whose efforts helped to promote the artist's work and the development of his reputation. Treillard was not alone in this task. His wife, Edmonde, a dentist, supported him his entire life, sharing his taste for art and collecting, as can be seen in the collection they began building when they married in 1959 - initially focusing on the Surrealists- and enriched throughout their lives. Photographs, collages, lithographs and objects—including Man Ray's Pêchage of 1969, estimated at €20,000/30,000 —make up the 141 lots on offer at this sale, on top of the 188 from the first sale staged at Christie's Paris on March 2, 2021. “This collection grew over many years," says Man Ray specialist Emmanuelle de L'Ecotais. “Lucien worked for free for Man Ray, who gave him works in exchange. In addition, throughout his life, Lucien purchased works at auction, from the photographers’ acquaintances and the descendants of one of Man Ray’s former companions, Adrienne Fidelin, who sold him a set of negatives that were later donated to the Centre Pompidou in 1995. This new sale illustrates the extent and diversity of the collection.” Furthermore, in this selection, there are some 50 photographs by other artists—some close to Man Ray, including his assistants Jacques-André Boiffard, and Berenice Abbott, who met the Surrealist in 1920 when she was a sculptor. Initially a model, she became his collaborator in Paris in 1923.…