Rayograph (with Coil, Handkerchief and Chain), a photogram by Man Ray (1890-1976), is to headline Sotheby's Inventive Eye auction in New York on April 1.
The unique print dates to 1924 and is valued at $400,000-600,000.
 Man Ray pioneered the photogram technique during the 1920s |
Man Ray was an early exponent of the photogram method, which he referred to as "rayographs" after himself, with this example one of the earliest he made.
They are produced by exposing a piece of photographic paper, across which objects are arranged, to a light.
Man Ray was among the most influential artists of the 20th century and worked within a diverse range of fields, from photography to painting and performance art.
He was a central figure in the dada movement and associated with other important figures of the art world, including Marcel Duchamp.
In March 2013, a chess set Man Ray designed made £32,500 ($49,300) in a sale at Christie's London.
His auction record was set by an untitled rayograph that made $1.2m at Christie's New York last year.
Shells by Edward Weston (1886-1958) is valued at $300,000-500,000.
 Weston has signed the print on the reverse |
Numbered 18 of an edition of 50, the photograph was taken in 1927 and displays the artist's characteristic exploration of natural forms.
The series of shell images that Weston produced in the late 1920s are considered among the most iconic photographs in the history of the medium.
His auction record was set for a nude that made $1.6m at Sotheby's New York in 2008.
A photography sale due to take place at Sotheby's New York the following day will feature a copy of Alexander Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War.
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