Double Portrait of the Artist in Time

Helen Lundeberg, Double Portrait of the Artist in Time, 1935, oil on fiberboard, 47 ³⁄₄ x 40 in. (121.3 x 101.6 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1978.51

Artwork Details

Title: Double Portrait of the Artist in Time
Artist: Helen Lundeberg
Date: 1935
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
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Luce Foundation Center
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4th Floor
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38B
Dimensions: 47 ³⁄₄ x 40 in. (121.3 x 101.6 cm.)
Credit Line: Museum purchase
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on fiberboard
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Portrait female — Lundeberg, Helen — self-portrait
Occupation — art — printmaker
Occupation — art — painter
Object — furniture — clock
Object — flower
Portrait female — Lundeberg, Helen — full length
Portrait female — Lundeberg, Helen — child
Architecture Interior — domestic — house
Allegory — time
Allegory — life
Object Number: 1978.51
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1978.51

Artwork Description

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.