Portrait of My Father with Newspaper

Media - 1989.58 - SAAM-1989.58_1 - 79875
Copied Larry Sultan, Portrait of My Father with Newspaper, 1988, chromogenic print, image: 28 5⁄8 x 34 5⁄8 in. (72.7 x 87.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Nan Tucker McEvoy, 1989.58, © 1988, Larry Sultan

Artwork Details

Title
Portrait of My Father with Newspaper
Artist
Date
1988
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
image: 28 5⁄8 x 34 5⁄8 in. (72.7 x 87.9 cm.)
Markings
lower center in felt-tipped pen and ink: Larry Sultan
Copyright
© 1988, Larry Sultan
Credit Line
Gift of Nan Tucker McEvoy
Mediums Description
chromogenic print
Classifications
Highlights
Keywords
  • Figure
  • Recreation — leisure — reading
  • Portrait male — Sultan, Mr.
  • Object — written matter — newspaper
Object Number
1989.58
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1989.58

Artwork Description

In Portrait of My Father with Newspaper, Irving Sultan reads the Los Angeles Times as light pours in behind him. This carefully composed portrait reveals the artist’s father almost entirely through reflections and shadows. Thin newsprint shields his body from the camera, while only a vague profile of his face is discernible on the right half of the spread.
Prompted by the discovery of a box of home movies, Larry Sultan embarked on an eight-year enquiry into his parents’ lives. He stayed in their home for weeks at a time, interviewing them about their marriage and photographing their domestic activities.


A Democracy of Images: Photographs from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2013