1946, Elaine de Kooning, Self-Portrait -- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
From the museum label: This painting belongs to a series of self-portraits that De Kooning made at the start of her career as a painter, writer, and teacher operating at the heart of New York's artistic avant-garde. She depicts herself in the studio, wearing a blue painter's smock. Tacked-up drawings, a potted plant, and the coffee mug on the floor personalize the austere space. While many of her contemporaries embraced pure abstraction, De Kooning explored the potential of figurative portraiture throughout her career, frequently depicting fellow artists and posing for them in turn.
1946, Elaine de Kooning, Self-Portrait -- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
From the museum label: This painting belongs to a series of self-portraits that De Kooning made at the start of her career as a painter, writer, and teacher operating at the heart of New York's artistic avant-garde. She depicts herself in the studio, wearing a blue painter's smock. Tacked-up drawings, a potted plant, and the coffee mug on the floor personalize the austere space. While many of her contemporaries embraced pure abstraction, De Kooning explored the potential of figurative portraiture throughout her career, frequently depicting fellow artists and posing for them in turn.