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Member Lecture—Soap Opera: Man Ray and the Portrait of Dorothy Jean Sayman (a.k.a. Lady Smithers)
Member Lecture and Book Club events are available exclusively to Museum Members. Join today!
Welcome back guest lecturer Bradley Bailey, associate professor and director of the art history program at Saint Louis University, for a closer look at a fascinating portrait in the Museum’s collection attributed to celebrated Dada and Surrealist photographer Man Ray.
The subject, St. Louis socialite and heiress Dorothy Jean “DoJean” Sayman—later known as Lady Smithers—lived a life as dramatic as any work of art. From her ties to the Sayman Soap fortune to her marriage to British diplomat and spy Sir Peter Smithers, rumored to have inspired the character of James Bond, her story unfolds at the intersection of glamour, intrigue, and modernism.
Join Bailey as he unpacks the mysteries surrounding this enigmatic portrait, from questions of attribution to the complexities of Man Ray’s photographic practice. Along the way, discover how one remarkable sitter—and one elusive image—opened a window onto the worlds of wealth, identity, and artistic authorship.
Ticket information
Advance tickets can be reserved in person or through MetroTix using your Member ticket code. All tickets reserved through MetroTix incur a service charge; the service charge is waived for tickets reserved at the Museum. For your ticket code or more information, visit slam.org/MemberTickets.
What is the Member Lecture Series?
Member Lectures are exclusive, live, in-person events held in the Museum’s Farrell Auditorium. Members enjoy a deeper look at the fascinating changes and ongoing scholarship by the Museum’s curators and researchers. Learn more here.