About this artwork
Ellen Emmet Rand worked principally as a portraitist. Yet Woman before the Mirror is instead a dynamic figure study, showcasing her assured brushwork and vibrant palette. Executed in 1925, the painting demonstrates the artist’s interest in elements both old and new: The figure wears 19th-century dress, which Rand rendered in a painterly realism inspired by Spanish Baroque artist Diego Velázquez. The woman’s intense gaze in reflection, however, suggests an assertive self-presentation that is decidedly modern. A trailblazer herself, Rand trained at the Art Students League in New York and then with American sculptor and painter Frederick MacMonnies in Paris in the 1890s. She supported her family with her art from her student years onward, receiving considerable acclaim in her day as a female professional.
-
Status
- On View, Gallery 178
-
Department
- Arts of the Americas
-
Artist
- Ellen Emmet Rand
-
Title
- Woman before the Mirror
-
Place
- United States (Artist's nationality:)
-
Date
- 1925
-
Medium
- Oil on board
-
Inscriptions
- Signed and dated, upper right: Ellen Emmet Rand / 1925
-
Dimensions
- 70.8 × 54.6 cm (27 7/8 × 21 1/2 in.)
-
Credit Line
- Mr. and Mrs. Frederick G. Wacker Jr. Endowment Fund
-
Reference Number
- 2019.711
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.
