It’s July 1942, and the artist Marcel Duchamp has recently arrived in New York City after fleeing the Nazis in Vichy France. As he settles in, he writes to his longtime friend and fellow artist Man Ray, who is living in California. In this casual letter, Duchamp asks Man Ray for help. He needs buyers for his latest artwork: a suitcase containing miniatures of many of his most famous pieces, from the mass-produced urinal he signed his name to and called art to his mustachioed Mona Lisa. He ends with a short, cryptic note about his romantic partner, Mary, who has stayed behind in France to join the resistance.

In this episode of Recording Artists: Intimate Addresses, you’ll meet the man behind some of the most controversial and influential artworks of the 20th century. Anna Deavere Smith voices the letter. Host Tess Taylor unpacks Duchamp’s wit, his decades-long friendship with Man Ray, and how he used his own archive to create new works of art. Photographer Dayanita Singh shares her experiences mining her own archive and art historian T. J. Demos weighs in on the artist’s life and legacy.

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