"Perhaps in painted faces it’s the mouth that holds the most personality, not the eyes." Wow, I think that may be true! While I admire them greatly, there is an force to these portraits that would overwhelm my home if they hung on my walls. Maybe it is the combination of the flat plane and the intensity of their gazes. Wonderful paintings!
I also like theportait of the man in the red-checkered vest. The face is so well done, so expressive. If you changed the clothes, it could also be an early renaissance Italian portrait.
This is one of my favorite series of your father's work. I love the telling detail in the baseball player--the Yankee's logo rendered in red! Red Sox red! At first I read in that his utter lack of interest in sports, but the opposite is probably more interesting: his interest in color was primary. _To hell with the actual logo color! This is about red!_
“Elegant seriousness” is just right for the Obama portrait, and the pale blue background gives it a faint chill that keeps the viewer at bay. The artist’s use of background color fascinates me. The gold, textured background highlights the blue dress in a way that suggests medieval altarpieces. I’d call these faces enigmatic rather than expressionless. The sitters belong absolutely to themselves.
I meant to read the Strouse book and had forgotten. Thanks for the reminder. The concept reminds me of Erica Hetshler’s SARGENT’S DAUGHTERS, about a single, stunning group portrait at MFA Boston.
"Perhaps in painted faces it’s the mouth that holds the most personality, not the eyes." Wow, I think that may be true! While I admire them greatly, there is an force to these portraits that would overwhelm my home if they hung on my walls. Maybe it is the combination of the flat plane and the intensity of their gazes. Wonderful paintings!
Thanks! I agree that it's hard to have eyes staring down on you in your home. And these are, indeed, intense. :)
I also like theportait of the man in the red-checkered vest. The face is so well done, so expressive. If you changed the clothes, it could also be an early renaissance Italian portrait.
My father would have loved to hear this! 🙏
Hard to not think again of forerunner Marcia Marcus looking at these, particularly the Obama portrait
This is one of my favorite series of your father's work. I love the telling detail in the baseball player--the Yankee's logo rendered in red! Red Sox red! At first I read in that his utter lack of interest in sports, but the opposite is probably more interesting: his interest in color was primary. _To hell with the actual logo color! This is about red!_
Ha. I am so much my father’s daughter that I didn’t even notice the red Yankee logo. 😁
“Elegant seriousness” is just right for the Obama portrait, and the pale blue background gives it a faint chill that keeps the viewer at bay. The artist’s use of background color fascinates me. The gold, textured background highlights the blue dress in a way that suggests medieval altarpieces. I’d call these faces enigmatic rather than expressionless. The sitters belong absolutely to themselves.
I meant to read the Strouse book and had forgotten. Thanks for the reminder. The concept reminds me of Erica Hetshler’s SARGENT’S DAUGHTERS, about a single, stunning group portrait at MFA Boston.
Thanks for this, Rona— I like the medieval comparison. The dress is also Klimt-like but not in an obvious way.
I haven’t heard of the Sargent book (about the Boit daughters?) but I love “behind the scenes” research so I’ll look for it.
The gold background could also be Klimpt. And yes, the Boit girls.
You father's paintings are incredibly modern, so precient about the direction of art in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Very glad that you posted them.
Thanks, Marnie. It was hard to look at them critically—
Love your father's portraits. Sort of a neofolk look. Is there such a thing? Did I just coin a new term?
I like that new term!