exhibition brochure - the Heckscher Museum of Art

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Before Selfies
Portraiture through the Ages
April 25 - August 9, 2015
Before the invention of the camera and the more recent phenomenon of social
media and the selfie, preserving an image of one’s likeness required the skills of
a trained portraitist. Developed in the Western world, where individual identity
has been esteemed since antiquity, a portrait immortalizes its sitter and unites
past and present for the viewer. While stylized profile representations of rulers
were produced in ancient Egypt, the earliest individualized portraits based
on observation were created in ancient Rome, where a tradition of naturalistic
portrait sculpture developed. During the Renaissance, the portrait became an
important record of status and position, and a significant source of livelihood
for artists. Wealthy religious and civic patrons were memorialized in works that
preserved their appearance, character, personality, accomplishments, and times
for posterity. Considered singly or collectively, portraiture from the 15th century
through the present reveals the political, military, economic, social, and cultural
history of Europe, and beginning in the 18th century of America as well.
While conveying physical appearance, portraits also capture a sitter’s inner essence,
temperament, interests, and even mood, creating a visual biography that relays a
wealth of information not discerned from a spontaneous snapshot or selfie. Often
produced on commission, the portrait was a contract between the sitter and artist,
reflecting the patron’s vision of himself, distilled through the eye and hand of the
artist. As early as the Renaissance, some artists also created self-portraits (at times
as a form of advertisement) and portraits of family and friends, a trend that gained
prominence through the 19th century as artists turned to the world around them
for their subjects.
Drawn from the Museum’s Permanent Collection, Before Selfies presents a rich
history of portraiture from the 16th century to the present day. Self-portraits and
images of fellow artists, family, and friends reveal the artist’s most intimate world,
while images of public figures, anonymous sitters, and character types describe
our collective history and experience. In these works, we discern changing
concepts of beauty, diverse approaches to depicting male and female subjects that
reflect underlying gender roles, and commentary on the human condition in the
20th century. The evolution of portraiture presented here also reveals a shift from
homage of venerable individuals to a celebration of the unique qualities within
each of us.
This exhibition is sponsored in part by Astoria Bank.
Cover: Thomas Anshutz, Portrait of Rebecca Whelan, c. 1908 [detail].
Top row: William Sydney Mount, Portrait of William Wickham Mills, n.d. [detail]; Mark Markov-Grinberg, The Cook (alternately, The Kitchen), 1930 [detail]; Florine Stettheimer, Portrait of Louis Bouché, 1923 [detail]; Julian Alden Weir, The Miniature, 1888 [detail].
Bottom row: Pierce Francis Connelly, Kate Annette Smith Wetherill, 1881 [detail]; Bertram Hartman, Self-Portrait, 1924 [detail]; Emmanuel Leutze, Untitled (Portrait of a Young Girl), n.d. [detail]; Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, A Beggar Seated on a Bank, c. 1630 [detail].
It is for the artist...in portrait painting to put on canvas something more than the face
the model wears for that one day; to paint the man, in short, as well as his features.
- James Abbott McNeill Whistler
EXHIBITION CHECKLIST
ABBEY, Edwin Austin
Sketching at Easthampton, 1878
Watercolor and gouache on paper, 11-1/4 x 17 in.
Gift of the Baker/Pisano Collection
ANSHUTZ, Thomas
Portrait of Rebecca Whelan, c. 1908
Oil on canvas, 59-1/4 x 39-1/2 in.
Museum Purchase
CAO, Alex Guofeng
MARILYN vs. MONALISA, 2009
Chromogenic print, 60 x 40 in.
Gift of Timothy S. J. Heckscher
CAROLUS-DURAN, Charles-Emile-Auguste
Portrait of James Carroll Beckwith, c. 1877
Oil on wood panel, 15-3/8 x 12-1/2 in.
Museum Purchase
CHASE, William Merritt
A Lady in Black, 1883
Pen and ink on paper, 9-1/2 x 7-3/4 in.
Portrait of a Lady (probably Mrs. Julius Gerson), n.d.
Pastel on paper, 20 x 16 in.
Self Portrait as Colonel Johan Claeszoon Loo (Detail
after Frans Hals’ ‘Assembly of Officers of and
Subalterns of the Civic Guard of St. Adriaen at
Haarlem’), 1903
CHURCH, Frederic S.
Church and Shirlaw, n.d.
Pencil and gouache on paper, 11-3/4 x 9-3/4 in.
CONNELLY, Pierce Francis
Kate Annette Smith Wetherill, 1881
Marble, 21-7/8 x 20-3/4 x 13-3/4 in.
Gift of Miss Kate C. Lefferts and Isabella Lefferts
Edwards
CURTIS, Edward Sheriff
Wakonda-Oto [Male Indian in Headdress], 1927
Sepia-toned photogravure on thick cream paper,
22 x 18 in.
Gift of Mrs. Joan Friedman
DELLOSSO, Gabriela Gonzalez
Bride II, 2005
Oil on canvas, 85 x 35 in.
Gift of the Artist
EAKINS, Thomas
Study for The Cello Player, 1896
Oil on canvas, mounted on board, 17-1/2 x 14 in.
Museum Purchase: Heckscher Trust Fund, Stebbins
Family, Priscilla de Forest Williams, George
Wilhelm, and Acquisition Fund
FISKE, Gertrude
Spring, n.d.
Gift of Madeleine and Jeffrey Grant
FRENCH, Daniel Chester
Seated Lincoln, 1924-25
Bronze, 32-3/8 x 27-3/4 x 28-1/4 in.
August Heckscher Collection
GROOMS, Red
Picasso, 1997
Three-dimensional color lithograph on Rives BFK
paper, 21 x 22 x 12-1/4 in.
Museum Purchase
HARTMAN, Bertram
Self-Portrait, 1924
JAFFEE, N. Jay
Self Portrait, NYC, 1980
Gelatin silver print, 6-3/4 x 10-11/16 in.
Gift of Paula G. Hackeling
Walter Satkovski, 1986
Gift of Ms. Paula W. Hackeling
Alex Guofeng Cao, MARILYN vs. MONALISA, 2009 [detail].
Bryant Park, 1950 (printed 1981)
Gift of Ms. Cyrisse Jaffee
JAFFEE, N. Jay
Woman Selling Vegetables, Blake Avenue, East New
York, Brooklyn, 1950
Gelatin silver print, 9 x 10-1/4 in.
Gift of Ms. Cyrisse Jaffee
KARFIOL, Bernard
Portrait of Robert Laurent, n.d.
LEUTZE, Emmanuel
Untitled (Portrait of a Young Girl), n.d.
Gift of Theresa A. Cwierzyk and Sidney Gordon
LEVINSTEIN, Leon
Rockefeller Center, 1956
Gelatin silver print, 16 x 20 in.
Gift of Mr. Geoffrey B. West
MARCHANT, Edward Dalton
Portrait of Mrs. Alexander T. Stewart, 1844
Gift of Miss Kate C. Lefferts and Isabella Lefferts
Edwards
MARKOV-GRINBERG, Mark
Nikita Izotov, Distinguished Miner of Donbass Coal
Region, Ukraine, 1934
Ferrotyped gelatin silver print, 13 x 8-3/4 in.
Gift of Doug and Joan Hansen
Policeman Directing Traffic, 1936
Ferrotyped gelatin silver print, 13-5/16 x 8-1/4 in.
Gift of Professor Todd Gitlin
The Cook (alternately, The Kitchen), 1930
Ferrotyped gelatin silver print, 9-11/16 x 12-5/16 in.
Gift of Doug and Joan Hansen
MARSH, Reginald
Portrait of Louis Bouché, c. 1930s
Ink on paper, 8 x 8 in.
Gift of Ms. Jane Strong
MATISSE, Henri
Monsieur Loyal, 1943
Stencil print on paper, 16-5/8 x 25-5/8 in.
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Milton M. Gardner
McLEAN, Richard Thorpe
Greentree’s Sloe Gin, 1972
Lithograph on paper, 21-7/8 x 29-1/2 in.
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Samuel S. Mandel
MOUNT, William Sydney
Portrait of Eliza Ann Mills, n.d.
Gift of Caroline Roberta Smith
Portrait of William Wickham Mills, n.d.
Gift of Caroline Roberta Smith
NAMUTH, Hans
Artists on the Beach, 1962
Gift of Mr. Marcel Bally
POOR, Henry Varnum
The Disappointed Fisherman, n.d.
PORTER, Fairfield
Anne in Doorway, 1974
Gift of Mrs. Fairfield Porter
Elizabeth in a Red Chair, 1961
Gift of the Family of Fairfield Porter
POWERS, Hiram
George Washington, 1849
Marble, 31-3/8 x 23-7/8 x 14-3/4 in.
August Heckscher Collection
SLOBODKINA, Esphyr
Ilya, 1933
Gift of the Artist
STETTHEIMER, Florine
Portrait of Louis Bouché, 1923
SULTAN, Altoon
Night Portrait, 1981
Oil on canvas mounted on board, 8-3/16 x 7 in.
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Marvin Sinkoff
SZABO, Joseph
Carrie and Evelyn, 1974 (printed later)
Gift of the Artist
TORR, Helen
Portrait of Arthur Dove, n.d.
Pencil on paper, 12-15/16 x 7-1/2 in.
Museum purchase
UNKNOWN ARTIST (English)
Portrait of Elizabeth Howard, 1582
Bequest of John Nichols Estabrook and Dorothy
Coogan Estabrook
UNKNOWN ARTIST (English)
Portrait of a Young Lady in White Dress and Black
Lace Shawl, c. 1825
Oil on canvas, 30 x 25-1/4 in.
Bequest of John Nichols Estabrook and Dorothy
Coogan Estabrook
UNKNOWN ARTIST (German)
Portrait of a Man, 1508
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Alfred A. Azzoni
VAN RIJN, Rembrandt Harmenszoon
A Beggar Seated on a Bank, c. 1630
Etching on paper, 4-9/16 x 2-3/4 in.
Bequest of Mrs. John H. Livingston
WEBSTER, Stokely
Self Portrait in Cape, 1934
Gift of Audrey Webster
WEIR, Julian Alden
The Miniature, 1888
Museum Purchase: Heckscher Trust Fund
WHISTLER, James Abbott McNeill
Bebe Lalouette, 1859
Etching and drypoint on paper, 8-7/8 x 5-7/8 in.
(plate)
Gift of Mrs. Frances Gates
WHITE, Christian
The Garden Wall, 1992
Oil on linen, 48 x 60 in.
Gift of Mr. James Simons
WHITE, Robert Winthrop
Fairfield Porter, 1970
Bronze, 12-1/2 x 7-5/8 x 9-1/4 in.
Museum Purchase
WILES, Gladys
‘1875’ (Lady in Striped Gown), c. 1921
WINOGRAND, Garry
Woman in kerchief and black shirt, c. 1970
Gift of Dr. Mark Reichman
SHERBELL, Rhoda
Aaron Copland, 1976
Bonded bronze, 20-3/4 x 10 x 11 in. (including base)
Gift of Dr. Mark Weinstein and Susan Honig
Weinstein
SLOAN, Helen Farr
Modern Woman, 1949
Oil on panel, 24 x 18 in.
2 Prime Avenue
Huntington, NY 11743
631.351.3250
www.heckscher.org
Before Selfies
Portraiture
through the
Ages

exhibition brochure - the Heckscher Museum of Art

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