Frank O’Hara

Artist Fairfield Porter (American, 1907-1975)

Date1957

DimensionsH: 63 7/8 in. (162.3 cm); W: 45 7/8 in. (116.5 cm)

MediumOil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1977.31

Not on View

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.Published ReferencesFeldman, M., "Frank O'Hara: Lost Times and Future Hopes," Art in America, LX, Mar. 1972, repr. p. 55.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, American Paintings, Toledo, 1979, p. 91, pl. 256.

J.S., "Fairfield Porter," Art News, vol. 57, May 1958, illus. p. 13.

"For the record," Art Gallery, vol. 21, no. 5, June/July 1978, p. 16.

"New Acquisitions," Ohio Museums Quarterly, vol. 2, no. 3, Fall 1978, p. 10.

"La chronique des arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 91, no. 1310, March 1978, p. 96.

"Acquisitions," Art Journal, vol. 38, no. 1, Fall 1978, p. 62.

"1978 Annual Report," The Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 21, no. 1, 1979, p. 7, repr. p. 16.

Spike, John T., Fairfield Porter: an American Classic, New York, 1992, pp. 132, 134, 236, repr. p. 130.

Carrier, David, "Los Angeles: Frank O'Hara, and American Art," Burlington, vol. 141, no. 1160, Nov. 1999, p. 709, fig. 66 (col.), p. 710.

Lehman, David, "O'Hara's Artful Life," Art in America, vol. 88, no. 2, Feb. 2000, pp. 119-120, repr. p. 116 (col.).

Diggory, Terence, ed., The Scene of My Selves: New Work on New York School Poets, Orono, Me., 2001, fig. 4.

Ludman, Joan, Fairfield Porter: a Catalogue Raisonne of the Paintings, Watercolors, and Pastels, New York, 2001, no. L224, p. 151, repr.

Exhibition HistoryNew York, Hirschl and Adler Galleries, Fairfield Porter: Figurative Painting, 1979.

Storrs, Univ. of Conn., William Benton Museum of Art, Art with the Touch of a Poet: Frank O'Hara, 1983, no. 70, repr.

Newport Beach, Newport Harbor Art Museum; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Academy of The Fine Arts; San Antonio, McNay Art Museum, The Figurative Fifties, 1988-1989, no. 63, repr. p. 140.

Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art; Columbus, Wexner Center for the Arts; Southhampton, Parrish Art Museum, In Memory of My Feelings; Frank O'Hara and American Art, 1999-2000, p. 82, repr. p. 84, (col.).

San Antonio, McNay Art Museum, Fairfield Porter: A Life in Art, 2003-2004.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Myers, John Bernard, "Fairfield Porter: Poet of the Commonplace," Portfolio, vol. 5, no. 1, Jan./Feb. 1983, p. 57, repr. of Elaine de Kooning.