At first glance, Self-Portrait of My Sister appears to be a relatively straightforward representation of a young woman. It was painted by the Chicago Surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie but seems to lack the mysterious imagery of her landscapes and interior scenes. Further examination, however, reveals subtle touches of her dark aesthetic, beginning with the title itself. Self-Portrait of My Sister is an enigmatic reference to a sister who did not exist, for the artist was in fact an only child. However, Abercrombie initially referred to this painting as “Portrait of Artist as Ideal,” a phrase that reveals her underlying meaning. Abercrombie’s work was invariably self-referential; as she put it, “It’s always myself that I paint, but not actually, because I don’t look that good or cute.” Her reference to a fictitious, prettier sister hints at her desire to be a different person, a longing she satisfied through self-portraiture.
Here, the artist exaggerated and idealized her appearance, depicting herself with an extraordinarily long, slender neck; vivid blue eyes; and sharpened features. She portrayed herself wearing black gloves and a flat-brimmed hat trimmed with a bunch of grapes, all motifs that recurred with some frequency in her paintings and acted as symbols of her presence. Such inclusions helped shape her individual variant of Surrealism, which she felt was based in realism. “Surrealism is meant for me,” she remarked, “because I am a pretty realistic person but don’t like all I see. So I dream that it is changed. Then I change it to the way I want it. It is almost always pretty real. Only mystery and fantasy have been added. All foolishness has been taken out. It becomes my own dream.”
Date
Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.
Signed and dated recto, bottom-left, on grey background, in grey paint: “Abercrombie / 41”.
Dimensions
68.6 × 55.9 cm (27 × 22 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Powell and Barbara Bridges
Reference Number
2009.59
Extended information about this artwork
Art Institute of Chicago, The Fifty-Second Annual Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpture, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 1941), cat. 1, as Self-Portrait of My Sister.
Betty Walker, “No Man’s Land” Chicago Sun-Times (Nov. 21, 1948): 3x (the artist shown working on the painting).
Associated American Artist Galleries, First Exhibition of Paintings by Gertrude Abercrombie, exh. cat. (New York: Associated American Artist Galleries, 1949), checklist no. 9, as Self Portrait.
Frank Holland, “Chicago Artists Exhibit Self-Portraits” Chicago Sun Times (Jan. 18, 1953): section 2, 10 (ill.).
Hyde Park Art Center, Gertrude Abercrombie: a Retrospective Exhibition, exh. cat. (Hyde Park Art Center, 1977), 52, cat. 25.
Susan Weininger and Kent Smith, Gertrude Abercrombie, exh. cat. (Springfield, IL: Illinois State Museum, 1991), 4, 54, 76, 90 (the artist shown working on the painting; ill.).
Wendy Greenhouse and Susan Weininger, Chicago Painting, 1895–1945, The Bridges Collection, exh. cat. (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2004), 84-85, 240, cat. 1 (the artist shown working on the painting; ill.).
Elizabeth Kennedy, Wendy Greenhouse, Daniel Schulman, and Susan Weininger, Chicago Modern, 1893-1945: Pursuit of the New, exh. cat. (Terra Museum of American Art, 2004), 80, 162, cat. 1 (ill.).
Robert Cozzolino, With Friends–Six Magic Realists, exh. cat. (Madison, WI: Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2005), 79, pl. 13 (ill.).
Robert Cozzolino, Art in Chicago–Resisting Regionalism, Transforming Modernism, exh. cat. (Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2007), 34, cat. 17 (ill.).
Art Institute of ChicagoArt Institute of Chicago Annual Report (2008–2009): 16.
Ilene Susan Fort, Teresa Arcq, Terri Geis, and Dawn Ades, In Wonderland: The Surrealist Activities of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States, exh. cat. (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2012), 42, cat. 24 (ill.).
James Rondeau, et. al.Paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago: Highlights of the Collection, (Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2017), 133 (ill.).
Robert Storr, Susan Weininger, Robert Cozzolino, and Dinah Livingston with Studs Terkel, Gertrude Abercrombie, exh. cat. (New York: Karma Books, 2018), 78-79, 193 (painting shown in situ; ill.).
Liesl Olson, et. al.Chicago Avant-Garde: Five Women Ahead of their Time, exh. cat. (Newberry Library, 2001), 65, fig. 31 (ill.).
Art Institute of Chicago, The Fifty-Second Annual Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpture, Oct. 30, 1941–Jan. 4, 1942, cat. 1, as Self-Portrait of My Sister.
New York, Associated American Artist Galleries, First Exhibition of Paintings by Gertrude Abercrombie, Jan. 24–Feb. 6, 1949, checklist no. 9, as Self Portrait.
Athens, OH, Ohio University, 1947, no cat.
Chicago Public Library, Art Room, Gertrude Abercrombie, 1948.
Chicago, Mandel Brothers Gallery, Exhibition of Chicago Artists’ Self-Portraits, 1953.
Chicago, Newman Brown Gallery, Gertrude Abercrombie, Sept. 1953, checklist no. 10, as Self Portrait.
Aurora, IL, John Fordon Gallery, Gertrude Abercrombie, Aug. 1953, checklist no. 27.
Chicago, Hyde Park Art Center, Gertrude Abercrombie: A Retrospective Exhibition, 1977, cat. 25, as Self Portrait.
Chicago, State of Illinois Art Gallery, Gertrude Abercrombie, Mar. 18-May 17, 1991, no cat. no. (ill.); Springfield, IL, Illinois State Museum, July 2 –Oct. 15, 1991.
Chicago Gallery, Illinois State Museum, Chicago Painting, 1895–1945: The Bridges Collection, Jan. 31-May 19, 2000, cat. 1 (ill.) (cat. published 2004); Whittington, IL, Illinois State Museum, Southern Illinois Art Gallery, Sept. 17, 2000-Jan. 15, 2001; Springfield, Illinois State Museum, Feb. 11-Sept. 2, 2001; Lockport Gallery, Illinois State Museum, Sept. 22-Dec. 22, 2001.
Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago Modern, 1893–1945: Pursuit of the New, July 17–Oct. 31, 2004, cat. 1 (ill.).
Madison, WI, Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison, With Friends–Six Magic Realists, June 18–Aug. 28, 2005, no cat. no. (ill.).
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Art In Chicago–Resisting Regionalism, Transforming Modernism, Feb. 9–Apr. 2, 2006, cat. 17 (ill.).
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, In Wonderland: The Surrealist Activities of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States, Jan. 29–May 6, 2012, cat. 24 (ill.); Musee National des Beaux–Arts du Quebec, June 7–Sept. 3, 2012; Mexico City, Museo de Arte Moderno, Sept. 27, 2012–Jan. 13, 2013.
Chicago, Newberry Library, Chicago Avant-Garde: Five Women Ahead of their Time, Sept. 10–Dec. 30, 2021, no cat. no. (ill.).
Mrs. Scott Elliott (born 1932, also Eileen Cropley), Chicago, by 1977 [Hyde Park Art Center 1977, 52]. Gordon Cameron, Chicago, by 1991 [Weininger and Smith 1991, 90]. With Robert Henry Adams Fine Arts, Chicago, 1994 [this and the following according to Greenhouse and Weininger 2004, 243]; sold to Powell and Barbara Bridges (The Bridges Collection), Wilmette, IL, 1994; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2009.
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