- Artist/Maker:
- Lee Krasner
- Bio:
- American, 1908-1984
- Title:
- Self-Portrait
- Date:
- c. 1930
- Medium:
- Oil on linen
- Dimensions:
- 30 1/8 × 25 1/8 in. (76.5 × 63.8 cm)
- Credit Line:
- Purchase: Esther Leah Ritz Bequest; B. Gerald Cantor, Lady Kathleen Epstein, and Louis E. and Rosalyn M. Shecter Gifts, by exchange; Fine Arts Acquisitions Committee Fund; and Miriam Handler Fund
- Accession Number:
- 2008-32
- Copyright:
- © The Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Not On View
This self-portrait, painted for a life drawing class at the National Academy School of Design, presents a young Lee Krasner embarking on the difficult path toward professional success. In the 1940s, Krasner became a pivotal figure in Abstract Expressionism, synthesizing Cubism, collage, and gesture in dynamic paintings. As Jackson Pollock's wife, however, Krasner was denied wide recognition for her work until the 1970s, when feminist critics rallied around her as a survivor. "I couldn't run out and do a one-woman job on the sexist aspects of the art world, continue my painting, and stay in the role I was in as Mrs. Pollock," Krasner recalled. Her paintings have been in four group shows at The Jewish Museum.
Information may change as a result of ongoing research.