Artwork Record
Images
Metadata
Artist |
Igor Pantuhoff (1911-1972) |
Title |
Lenore Krassner |
Date |
1932 |
Medium |
Conte crayon and watercolor |
Dimensions |
21 3/4 x 23 3/4 in. |
Description |
Born to an aristocratic Russian family that immigrated to the United States after the 1918 revolution, Pantuhoff met Lenore Krassner, as she was then known, when they were fellow students at the National Academy of Design. They began living together in 1930, for a while sharing a Greenwich Village apartment with Harold Rosenberg and his wife May Tabak during the Depression, when Pantuhoff , Krasner, and many other artists of their generation were employed on the WPA Federal Art Project. A versatile and talented artist who won multiple prizes at the academy, Pantuhoff was especially admired for his portraiture. This profile portrait of Krasner, painted early in their 10-year relationship, poses her in an almost Egyptian manner, stylizing many of her actual traits: her luxuriant auburn hair, her long graceful neck, and her bold facial features bespeak a mixture of glamor and strength. Her half-closed eye gives her expression a sultry, introspective quality. She wears a chic blouse with a wide collar and puffed sleeves, perhaps a reference to her part-time job as a model for fashion illustrators. Pantuhoff has captured two dominant aspects of the 24-year-old Krasner's personality--her inner fortitude, and a sophistication beyond her years. The artist Michael Loew, who knew her from the WPA, saw her as an intense person who did not go in for small talk or any kind of nonsense. She was committed to her art and insisted on be taken seriously as a woman of accomplishment. This work on paper was given by Krasner to her nephew, Ronald Stein, who had it framed as it is now. At one time the sheet had apparently been folded. Water staining and silverfish damage are evident in the unfolded margins, partly obscuring the signature and date. Gift of The Cooper Union. |
Catalog Number |
2002.001.1 |
Object Name |
Painting |