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 1815 in. (68.938.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1973.32.2
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Portrait of Clara Fasano
Date
1943
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 27 1815 in. (68.938.1 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

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)

Lincoln Seitzman, #193 Yokut Snake Basket Illusion, 1996, oak, ink, and paint, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist and Connell Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 2002.7
#193 Yokut Snake Basket Illusion
Date1996
oak, ink, and paint
Not on view
Lincoln Seitzman, Petrified Sewing Basket, 1995, cherry, wenge, and imbuia, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur and Charles Bresler in honor of Kenneth R. Trapp, curator-in-charge of the Renwick Gallery (1995--2003), 2003.60.54A-B
Petrified Sewing Basket
Date1995
cherry, wenge, and imbuia
Not on view
Lincoln Seitzman, Petrified Hopi Basket--Second Mesa, 1993, guatambu, wenge, bloodwood, and lacewood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur and Charles Bresler in honor of Kenneth R. Trapp, curator-in-charge of the Renwick Gallery (1995--2003), 2003.60.53
Petrified Hopi Basket – Second Mesa
Date1993
guatambu, wenge, bloodwood, and lacewood
Not on view

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Cargo Cults (Java Bunny)
Date2016
pigment print
Not on view
Hurricane Redux
Date2018
linocut assemblage mounted on Masonite panels
Not on view