Robert Henri (American, 1865–1929)
Oil on canvas
76 1/2 x 36 1/4 in. (194.3 x 92.1 cm)
Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1958 (58.157)
Although Henri painted some city views of the sort that his Ashcan School colleagues produced, he more often turned his attention to portraits. Created to demonstrate his skills, and, possibly, to attract patronage, is this imposing lifesize image of his second wife, Marjorie Organ, whom he married in May 1908, after the death of his first wife in December 1905. Organ, who had emigrated from Ireland to the United States at the age of thirteen, had been Henri's student. She worked as a cartoonist at the New York Journal, where she was the only woman on the art staff. Henri's portrait exemplifies his directness in representing his models. Nothing but the figure engages him; the background offers no distractions; and the legacy of Diego Velázquez's naturalistic portraits is palpable.
Related
Index Terms
Art Movement/Style
- Realism in Twentieth–Century American Art
- The Ashcan School/The Eight in Twentieth–Century American Art
Artist
- Henri, Robert (American, 1865–1929)
