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
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

Works by this artist (3 items)

John R. Wendt, Plate from Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler's Christening Silver, ca. 1866, silver, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Charles J. Robertson III, 2005.2.1
Plate from Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler’s Christening Silver
Artist
Attributed to John R. Wendt
Dateca. 1866
silver
On view
John R. Wendt, Cup from Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler's Christening Silver, ca. 1866, silver, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Charles J. Robertson III, 2005.2.3
Cup from Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler’s Christening Silver
Artist
Attributed to John R. Wendt
Dateca. 1866
silver
On view
John R. Wendt, Spoon from Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler's Christening Silver, ca. 1866, silver, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Charles J. Robertson III, 2005.2.2
Spoon from Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler’s Christening Silver
Artist
Attributed to John R. Wendt
Dateca. 1866
silver
On view

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