TitleNude Study
Artist
Isabel Bishop
(American, 1902 - 1988)
Date1934
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 15 × 18 in.
Framed: 22 × 24 15/16 × 3 in.
SignedSigned at lower left: "Isabel Bishop"
SubmissionNA diploma presentation, February 17, 1942
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number91-P
Label TextThis painting is a fully developed study for the work titled "Nude" in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. Bishop painted female nudes almost from the beginning of her career. These works reflect her admiration for Fragonard, Rubens, Renoir and Rembrandt. She created nudes only of women because "the female nude is a tradition. . . . the tradition . . . of the female nude ... is not only a subject but an art form, as [art historian] Kenneth Clark said. In other words, one would have to have a rather special attitude to study the male nude." Bishop's nudes have long been admired by other artists. She proudly recounted that the Abstract Expressionist Willem de Kooning reportedly said "That woman's nudes are the best damn nudes ever."
