Portrait of Clara Fasano

Joseph Stella, Portrait of Clara Fasano, 1943, pastel on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1973.32.2
Copied Joseph Stella, Portrait of Clara Fasano, 1943, pastel on paper, sheet: 27 1⁄8 x 15 in. (68.9 x 38.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1973.32.2
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Artwork Details

Title
Portrait of Clara Fasano
Artist
Date
1943
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 27 1⁄8 x 15 in. (68.9 x 38.1 cm)
Credit Line
Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Mediums
Mediums Description
pastel on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Portrait female — Fasano, Clara — bust
Object Number
1973.32.2
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1973.32.2

Artwork Description

Stella drew his friend Clara Fasano on numerous occasions, creating casual studies and posed portraits such as this bold, formal image. Her fashionable hat, flowing black veil, and dramatic red lips and scarf clearly place her in the 1940s. The strong outlines of her face and jacket suggest a self-assured, modern woman. One of America’s foremost modernist artists, Stella retained strong ties to his Italian roots as well as to the traditions of the old masters. Even when drawing his friends, he preferred a strict profile view, reminiscent of the early Italian Renaissance tradition.

Graphic Masters II: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2009