One of the great visual artists, Man Ray was born Emmanuel Radnitzky and came from South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ray was interested in art from a young age and regularly visited art museums to study the old masters. Initially he worked in advertising as a commercial artist and a technical illustrator, to pay his way while he worked towards his goal of becoming a painter. He studied at the Ferrer School of Art. He worked in a range of media, including photography and sculpture, and drew inspiration from a range of different influences, such as Cubism and the flat forms and vivid colours of the Dada and Surrealist movements.
