Self-Portrait, 1977
Oil enamel on canvas
90 x 72 inches
Collection of Sandra Shannonhouse
In Self-Portrait (1977), Joan Brown called into question the stereotypical image of the female artist. She depicted herself perched on a chair, legs daintily crossed, wearing clean, white gloves, high heels, and a fashionable print dress. In reality, Brown was often covered from head to toe in paint when she worked—a truthful nod to her process suggested in the paint-splattered floor and the large painting-in-progress behind the figure (The Kiss, 1979, also on view in the exhibition).
