The Mirror
Artist
Fairfield Porter
(American, 1907 - 1975)
Date1966
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsFramed: 72 3/4 × 60 3/4 inches (184.79 × 154.31 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation
Object numberF86-25
Signedl.l.: "Fairfield Porter 66"
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionPortrait of the artist's daughter. She is seated in the center, foreground, wearing an orange sweater, taupe skirt, and red stockings with her hair in pigtails. There is a mirror propped behind her, and the artist is reflected in the mirror over the sitter's proper left shoulder.Gallery LabelFairfield Porter’s The Mirror explores the complex relationship between reality and illusion. In this image, the artist depicts himself painting a portrait of his ten-year-old daughter, Elizabeth. Her gaze, from within the illusionistic space of the canvas, acknowledges the viewer’s presence in "real space." Simultaneously, the artist’s reflection in the mirror establishes another level of space that is neither ours nor Elizabeth’s.
Porter entered the art world just as the Abstract Expressionists were gaining international recognition. Yet he retained a commitment to the figure and to the traditional painting subjects: landscapes, interiors, still lifes, and portraits.
Copyright© Estate of Fairfield Porter / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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