Frank O’Hara
Artist: Fairfield Porter (American, 1907-1975)
Date: 1957
Dimensions:
H: 63 7/8 in. (162.3 cm); W: 45 7/8 in. (116.5 cm)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1977.31
Label Text:“When I paint, I think that what would satisfy me is to express what Bonnard said Renoir told him: make everything more beautiful. This partly means that a painting should contain a mystery, but not for mystery’s sake: a mystery that is essential to reality.”
A figure painter in an era of abstraction, Fairfield Porter’s images of family and friends reside in comfortable but ordinary domestic interiors, like the paintings by Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947) and Édouard Vuillard (1868–1940) that he so admired (see paintings by these artists in Gallery 35).
In this loosely executed portrait, a homey floral-patterned sofa is the backdrop for Porter’s depiction of poet, art critic, and playwright Frank O’Hara (1926–1966), whose poetry was influential to several Abstract Expressionist artists. O’Hara reclines on the sofa, barefoot and wearing casual summer clothes. Though the pose, setting, and clothing should suggest relaxation, there is an awkwardness and a tension to the portrait that hint at the intensity of O’Hara’s personality.
A figure painter in an era of abstraction, Fairfield Porter’s images of family and friends reside in comfortable but ordinary domestic interiors, like the paintings by Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947) and Édouard Vuillard (1868–1940) that he so admired (see paintings by these artists in Gallery 35).
In this loosely executed portrait, a homey floral-patterned sofa is the backdrop for Porter’s depiction of poet, art critic, and playwright Frank O’Hara (1926–1966), whose poetry was influential to several Abstract Expressionist artists. O’Hara reclines on the sofa, barefoot and wearing casual summer clothes. Though the pose, setting, and clothing should suggest relaxation, there is an awkwardness and a tension to the portrait that hint at the intensity of O’Hara’s personality.
Not on view
In Collection(s)