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Keelin before the Reflected View No. 2 is a large canvas dominated by geometry. Although relaxed and slightly slumped, the girl’s pose consists of right angles, which are reiterated in the simple chair on which she sits. Two windows and part of a third, each with a series of rectangular panes, make up the background, which is further defined by a broad light brown baseboard. In the left and center windows are reflections of additional windows and a coastline, blue sea and sky, and an island, presumably a view from Great Spruce Head Island, off the coast of Maine, where Porter summered for years. The model—probably in her mid-teens—is dressed casually, in blue shorts, sneakers, and a pink top. She has dark hair and stares off into the distance, appearing somewhat bored. Except for a few details, the overall palette consists of high-value shades, and the paint was applied evenly, with visible brushstrokes delineating her limbs.
The subject of the painting is Keelin Murphy, one of two daughters of Mary Howe Straus, a niece of Michael Straus, Porter’s brother-in-law. Her name is Gaelic, which means “slender and fair.” Another smaller and earlier version of the painting belongs to The Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, on Long Island, New York, where Porter resided for much of his career. [1] The museum is the repository of Porter’s archive and owns over 230 works by him.
As a critic for Art News Porter wrote reviews on his contemporaries, many of whom worked non-representationally, and he was also good friends with the arch Abstract Expressionist Willem deKooning. In his own painting, Porter was an avowed realist, best known for his figurative work. In an essay entitled “Recent American Figurative Painting,” he declared: “I believe in American art, there can be no ‘return’ to the figure. A movement toward painting the figure will be new, not renewed. It will be the first time American painters have tackled the problem directly. And there are a number of artists today who paint the figure without affectation, sentimentality, or evasiveness, and who do not follow criticism, but precede it.” [2] In its preponderance of flat shapes and abstracted details Keelin exemplifies the concept of a new figurative style of painting that would bear fruit in the 1980s and 1990s with the work of Eric Fischl and David Salle.
Notes:
[1] Joan Ludman, et al. Fairfield Porter: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Watercolors, and Pastels (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2001), 261.
[2] Porter, “Recent American Figurative Painting,” in Rackstraw Downes, ed. Fairfield Porter: Art in Its Own Terms: Selected Criticism, 1935–1975 (New York: Taplinger Publishing Co., 1979), 69–73.
ProvenanceBefore 1980
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, NY. [1]
From 1980
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York. [2]
Notes:
[1] Invoice from Hirschl & Adler Gallery.
[2] Loan Agreement.
Exhibition History2006
Self/Image: Portraiture from Copley to Close
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (8/30/2006 - 12/30/2006)
2021
The Voyage of Life: Art, Allegory, and Community Response
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (7/16/2021 - 12/12/2021)
Published ReferencesSpike, John & Ludmon, Joan. Fairfield Porter: An American Classic (Abrams, 1992).
Ludmon, Joan. Catalogue Raisonne of Prints (1981).
DepartmentCollection of Barbara B. Millhouse
Keelin Before the Reflected View No. 2
Artist
Fairfield Porter
(1907 - 1975)
Date1972
Mediumoil on canvas
DimensionsFrame: 61 5/8 x 83 1/2 in. (156.5 x 212.1 cm)
Canvas: 60 x 62 in. (152.4 x 157.5 cm)
SignedFairfield Porter 72
Credit LineCourtesy of Barbara B. Millhouse
CopyrightPublic Domain
Object numberIL2003.1.27
DescriptionFairfield Porter painted what was familiar: his beloved Maine, friends, and family members. His admiration for the French painter Pierre Bonnard is reflected in his quiet, light-filled scenes, and his penchant for moody sitters mirrors those of Thomas Eakins, the subject of a monograph by Porter. His father was an architect, which may explain the painter’s interest in domestic architecture.Keelin before the Reflected View No. 2 is a large canvas dominated by geometry. Although relaxed and slightly slumped, the girl’s pose consists of right angles, which are reiterated in the simple chair on which she sits. Two windows and part of a third, each with a series of rectangular panes, make up the background, which is further defined by a broad light brown baseboard. In the left and center windows are reflections of additional windows and a coastline, blue sea and sky, and an island, presumably a view from Great Spruce Head Island, off the coast of Maine, where Porter summered for years. The model—probably in her mid-teens—is dressed casually, in blue shorts, sneakers, and a pink top. She has dark hair and stares off into the distance, appearing somewhat bored. Except for a few details, the overall palette consists of high-value shades, and the paint was applied evenly, with visible brushstrokes delineating her limbs.
The subject of the painting is Keelin Murphy, one of two daughters of Mary Howe Straus, a niece of Michael Straus, Porter’s brother-in-law. Her name is Gaelic, which means “slender and fair.” Another smaller and earlier version of the painting belongs to The Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, on Long Island, New York, where Porter resided for much of his career. [1] The museum is the repository of Porter’s archive and owns over 230 works by him.
As a critic for Art News Porter wrote reviews on his contemporaries, many of whom worked non-representationally, and he was also good friends with the arch Abstract Expressionist Willem deKooning. In his own painting, Porter was an avowed realist, best known for his figurative work. In an essay entitled “Recent American Figurative Painting,” he declared: “I believe in American art, there can be no ‘return’ to the figure. A movement toward painting the figure will be new, not renewed. It will be the first time American painters have tackled the problem directly. And there are a number of artists today who paint the figure without affectation, sentimentality, or evasiveness, and who do not follow criticism, but precede it.” [2] In its preponderance of flat shapes and abstracted details Keelin exemplifies the concept of a new figurative style of painting that would bear fruit in the 1980s and 1990s with the work of Eric Fischl and David Salle.
Notes:
[1] Joan Ludman, et al. Fairfield Porter: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Watercolors, and Pastels (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2001), 261.
[2] Porter, “Recent American Figurative Painting,” in Rackstraw Downes, ed. Fairfield Porter: Art in Its Own Terms: Selected Criticism, 1935–1975 (New York: Taplinger Publishing Co., 1979), 69–73.
ProvenanceBefore 1980
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, NY. [1]
From 1980
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York. [2]
Notes:
[1] Invoice from Hirschl & Adler Gallery.
[2] Loan Agreement.
Exhibition History2006
Self/Image: Portraiture from Copley to Close
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (8/30/2006 - 12/30/2006)
2021
The Voyage of Life: Art, Allegory, and Community Response
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (7/16/2021 - 12/12/2021)
Published ReferencesSpike, John & Ludmon, Joan. Fairfield Porter: An American Classic (Abrams, 1992).
Ludmon, Joan. Catalogue Raisonne of Prints (1981).
Status
Not on view