The Spirit of Modern Art: The Société Anonyme Collection

The Société Anonyme was an artists’ organization founded in 1920 by Katherine S. Dreier (1877–1952), Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968), and Man Ray (1890–1976). Over its existence from 1920 to 1950, the Société organized over eighty exhibitions of contemporary art and produced near thirty publications, in addition to assembling an extraordinary collection of artworks. A self-proclaimed “experimental museum” for modern art , it was managed by artists, allowing themselves, rather than critics and historians, to shape the narrative of the development of modern art. Corporation, Inc. When it was founded, the organization’s full name read “Société Anonyme, Inc.: Museum of Modern Art 1920.” Man Ray was the one to come up with the first part of the title, which uses the French and American terms for a limited-risk capital venture. In typical Dada fashion, it relies on repetition to create an absurdist denomination that subverts corporate vocabulary. Duchamp designed the Société’s sardonic emblem—a silhouette of a laughing donkey, or ass. While Man Ray’s contribution to the enterprise was limited, Duchamp remained actively involved in the Société’s affairs until its official dissolution in 1950. He was central to planning the Société’s activities and tirelessly called upon his…