Cantor Arts Center

Looking at Each Other

A portrait, narrowly defined, is an object that captures both the physical characteristics and personality of the sitter. As viewers, we are often tempted to fixate on the notion of “likeness,” or how well the artist has managed to apprehend the sitter’s aforementioned qualities. A fixation on the content of a painting, however, can blind us to the historically exclusionary character of portraiture, as the genre was once reserved onlyfor the very elite.

To have one’s portrait painted—especially by a famous artist—was often directly tied to the one’s power, wealth, and social capital. Here, a selection of American portraits dating from the early nineteenth century to the contemporary moment demonstrate how these paintings can function as emblems of social status as well as forms of critique. What types of faces do we typically expect to see in a painted portrait, and what faces are rarely, if ever, represented? What can portraits tell us about social histories in the United States and beyond?

Aleesa Pitchamarn Alexander, PhD, Assistant Curator of American Art

Showing 1 to 10 of 10 Records

The Arab

Alice Neel
Oil on canvas
20th C. U.S.A.
2010.25
Currently On View

Business Man

Roger Shimomura
Acrylic on canvas
20th C. U.S.A.
2010.96
Currently On View

Lush Life #2

Roger Shimomura
Acrylic on canvas
20th C. U.S.A.
2010.97
Currently On View

Augusta Savage

Gwendolyn Knight
Oil on canvas
20th C. U.S.A.
2013.91
Currently On View

Image of Page 4 of Jefferson's "Farm Book,"....

Page 4 of Jefferson's "Farm Book,"....
Page 4 of Jefferson's "Farm Book," January 1774,Goliath, Hercules, Jupiter, Gill, Fanny, Ned, Sucky, Frankey, Gill, Nell, Bella, Charles, Jenny, Betty, June, Toby, Duna (sic), Cate, Hannah, Rachael, George, Ursula, George, Bagwell, Archy, Frank, Bett, Scilla, ? , 2

Titus Kaphar
Oil on canvas on support panel
21st C.
2018.102
Currently On View

Portrait of Sally Fairchild

John Singer Sargent
Oil on canvas
19th C. U.S.A.
2012.1
Currently On View

Mourning portrait of a mother and daughter

C.R. Parker
Oil on canvas
19th C. U.S.A.
2017.23

Portrait of Professor William D. Marks

Thomas Eakins
Oil on canvas
19th C. USA
2010.31

Spring 1932 (Portrait of the Dancer, Olin Howland)

Florine Stettheimer
Oil on canvas
20th C. U.S.A.
1958.46
Currently On View

Portrait of Leland Stanford Jr.

Gustave-Claude-Etienne Courtois
Oil on canvas
19th C. France
JLS.12065
Currently On View

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Last updated: 10/27/2020

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