Duchamp, Marcel (1887-1968)

French-born US artist. He achieved notoriety with his Nude Descending a Staircase No 2 (1912; Philadelphia Museum of Art), influenced by cubism and Futurism. An active exponent of Dada, he invented ready-mades, everyday items (for example, a bicycle wheel mounted on a kitchen stool) which he displayed as works of art.

A major early work that focuses on mechanical objects endowed with mysterious significance is La Mariée mise à nu par ses célibataires, même/The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even 1915-23 (Philadelphia Museum of Art). Duchamp continued to experiment with collage, mechanical imagery, and sculptural assemblages throughout his career. He lived mostly in New York and became a US citizen 1954.