Skip to Content
Today Open today 10–11 members | 11–5 public

Portrait

A work made of cotton, pre-dyed warp and weft satin weave with twill interlacings of secondary binding warps and patterning wefts; woven on a loom with a drawloom attachment fabricated by the artist.
© Ethel Stein

Image actions

  • A work made of cotton, pre-dyed warp and weft satin weave with twill interlacings of secondary binding warps and patterning wefts; woven on a loom with a drawloom attachment fabricated by the artist.

Date:

1999

Artist:

Ethel Stein (American, 1917-2018)
United States

About this artwork

The complicated weaving technique known as lampas, made possible by the development of the drawloom with a figure harness, is conducive to elaborate patterning. Stein turned to more pictorial subjects once she had set up her loom for the lampas technique in the 1990s. This imposing but enigmatic portrait of a seated woman, whose gestures suggest an interrupted activity, was inspired by a walk through a gallery of Old Master portraits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Textiles

Artist

Ethel Stein

Title

Portrait

Place

New York (Object made in)

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.

Made 1999

Medium

Cotton, pre-dyed warp and weft satin weave with twill interlacings of secondary binding warps and patterning wefts; woven on a loom with a drawloom attachment fabricated by the artist

Dimensions

108.5 × 88 cm (46 5/8 × 34 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Ethel Stein

Reference Number

2012.423

Copyright

© Ethel Stein

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share