Self Portrait for "Bedroom Painting #15"
Artist
Tom Wesselmann
(American, 1931-2004)
CultureAmerican
Date1969
MediumGraphite on paper
DimensionsOverall: 23 x 29 in. (58.4 x 73.7 cm)
InscribedSigned and dated lower left: Wesselmann 69
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number87.507
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a pencil on paper drawing. It is a study for the painting _Bedroom Painting #15_ (see object 77.420). It depicts the artists' self-portrait within the larger painting (see object 77.420). In the foreground on the left, there is an orange, and on the right side there is the curve of a pillow. The portrait, drawn from a photograph, is of a man's collar, neck and head; he looks directly at the viewer.Label TextTom Wesselmann American, 1931–2004 top Drawing for Bedroom Painting #15, ca. 1968 Graphite on paper bottom Self-Portrait for Bedroom Painting #15, 1969 Graphite on paper Tom Wesselmann made these preparatory drawings for the monumental canvas nearby. By the late 1960s, Wesselmann had perfected a traditional working method that included creating numerous sketches such as this pair. In the first sketch, Wesselmann determined the painting’s overall composition, carefully arranging a pillow, orange, rose, photograph, and female foot. As the drawing indicates, he initially planned to depict the sole of the foot, but ultimately flipped the image to show the top, its glossy red nails heightening the work’s sensual allure and chromatic punch. In the second drawing, he perfected the details of the bedside photograph. The self-portrait shows him gazing raptly at the “nipple” of an orange—a tantalizing allusion to the female nude lounging nearby. Museum purchase 87.508 and 87.507, respectively ProvenanceThe artist; Chrysler Museum Purchase, 1987. Exhibition History"Remix: A Fresh Look At Our Modern And Contemporary Art Collections," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, November 2, 2011 - March 17, 2012.Published ReferencesMartha N. Hagood and Jefferson C. Harrison, _American Art at the Chrysler Museum: Selected Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings_ (Norfolk, Va.: Chrysler Museum of Art, 2005), 248, no. 152. ISBN: 0-940744-71-6
