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.