TitleSelf-Portrait in Overalls
Artist
Louisa Matthiasdottir
(Icelandic/American, 1917 - 2000)
Datec. 1985
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 68 × 38 in.
Framed: 68 3/4 × 38 3/4 × 1 1/4 in.
SignedSigned at bottom left: "L. Matth."
SubmissionANA diploma presentation, October 7, 1987
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number1987.36
Label TextLouisa Matthiasdottir was born in Reykjavik, Iceland. She said that she appreciated the Icelandic landscape, which is unobstructed by trees, because "when there are trees one doesn't really see beyond them, one cannot get a sense of the horizon." Her painting has a stark, direct quality that evokes her native landscape, which has been called a "poetics of absence." Matthiasdottir painted many self-portraits during her career, most of them full-length like this one. The pose and attitude of this Self Portrait convey the force of her personality. The artist wears overalls and firmly grasps the tool of her trade; her kerchief is the only hint as to her sex.Collections
- Artist Portrait Highlights from the Collection
