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Double Portrait of the Artist in Time by Helen Lundeberg / American Art
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Double Portrait of the Artist in Time

1935 Helen Lundeberg Born: Chicago, Illinois 1908 Died: Los Angeles, California 1999 oil on fiberboard 47 3/4 x 40 in. (121.3 x 101.6 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum Museum purchase 1978.51 Smithsonian American Art Museum
4th Floor, Luce Foundation Center



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Double Portrait of the Artist in Time



In Double Portrait, Helen Lundeberg incorporated different figures and objects to symbolize the stages of her life. The time on the clock represents the child’s age of two and a quarter, and the blank paper suggests her unknown future. She holds a flower bud to emphasize her undeveloped state, whereas the adult figure holds a blooming flower to show that she has experienced sex and love. Lundeberg connected the young girl to the grown woman with a shadow to suggest that the two parts of her life are “psychologically bridged.” The subdued tones and flat colors create a mysterious world where the shadow hovers like a ghost over the shoulders of both figures.

For more information about this work visit the Luce Foundation Center.


Keywords

Allegory - life

Allegory - time

Figure(s) in interior - domestic

Object - flower

Object - furniture - clock

Occupation - art - painter

Occupation - art - printmaker

Portrait female - Lundeberg, Helen - child

Portrait female - Lundeberg, Helen - full length

Portrait female - Lundeberg, Helen - self-portrait

painting

paint - oil

fiberboard - masonite

About Helen Lundeberg

Born: Chicago, Illinois 1908 Died: Los Angeles, California 1999

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Helen Lundeberg

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