"Both learned and sumptuous. List does a marvelous job of placing Ray’s work in the context of both the avant-garde and its influence on later artists."
Airmail
"Larry List is the chess grandmaster of Man Ray studies. Permanent Attraction is jam-packed with championship-level scholarship."
Mark Polizzotti, author of Revolution of the Mind: The Life of Andre Breton and Why Surrealism Matters
"Beautifully written and meticulously researched, it fills the last remaining gap in Man Ray scholarship. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of modern art, design, or chess."
Michael R. Taylor, Artistic Director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Curator of Man Ray: The Paris Years, Marcel Duchamp: Etant donnes, and Salvador Dali: The Centenial Retrospective
"Artist Man Ray combined flashes of inspiration with methodical application. No wonder that he was drawn to the game of chess, which demands both. Larry List's inspired idea was to investigate the chess-related aspects of Man Ray's multi-faceted career. He has plumbed the subject with a thoroughness worthy of the master, giving us many enlightening and entertaining insights."
Arthur Lubow, contributor to the New York Times and The New Yorker, author of Man Ray: The Artist and His Shadows
"This text and its combination of images presents such a thorough, comprehensive inventory of all the chess-related art that Man Ray produced that it would now seem inconceivable that anyone would attempt to understand the totality of his artistic production without consulting it."
Francis M. Naumann, art historian, curator and gallerist, author of New York Dada 1915-25 and Impossible: The Love Affair Between Marcel Duchamp & Maria Martins & the Work It Inspired
"This book does not offer chess tactics or strategy but instead offers chess inspiration by showcasing the complex beauties of bold chess set designs and artworks made by a 20th century master with a lifelong passion for chess. It is a fine addition to our chess libraries."
Susan Polgar, Chess Grandmaster, Triple-Crown World Champion, 5-time Olympiad Gold Medalist, Hall of Famer and author of the Learn Chess the Right Way series and Rebel Queen, her autobiography
"A fantastic new book - already a collector's item! Extraordinarily painstaking work, solid and attractive. Lavishly filled with illustrations, color photos and even illustrated end papers. This book delights a collector's heart. I am really impressed."
Ralph Binnewirtz, chess journalist and collector, Cologne, Germany
"What preciseness of data. There is so much important and surprising information and imagery in this book."
Marino Vismara, Man Ray scholar & collector, Florence, Italy
"A beautiful book and a delightful, clever way of re-examining Man Ray's work. A study of his unique and dedicated relationship to chess was totally lacking until now. Fortunately, this gap has at last been filled with this extensive independent research. It cannot leave anyone indifferent to the facts. It is a pleasure to discover this work."
Sonya Zannettacci, Director of Gallerie Zannettaccia, Geneva, Switzerland
"A fine work of research. And a clear and animating text. It shows how valuable it is to join the approaches of both a researcher and a maker of objects."
Johannes Stahl, curator and art historian, Cologne, Germany
"At last, a wonderful Man Ray chess book. What an achievement, it is beautiful."
Mark Sanders, curator, gallerist and author of The Art of Chess, London, England
"It is thorough and scholarly but not an academic read. No buzz words or theory, just good plain research. And the footnotes are the best; a history of modernity and also the evolution of commercial photomechanical technology."
Sid Sachs, Director Emeritus of the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, University of the Arts and curator of Invisible City: Philadelphia & the Vernacular Avant- Garde, Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists 1958 – 1968
