Self-Portrait
Date1933
Maker
Morris Graves
American, born Fox Valley, Oregon, 1910; died Loleta, California, 2001
Label TextThe Northwest Modernist Graves painted this rare self-portrait during a gathering of Seattle artists who had come together to do their own and one another’s portraits. Its quiet intensity, however, belies the communal nature of its creation. The urgency with which Graves approaches his own gaze—as well as the anxious, undulating line containing it—captures not only his physical likeness but also his profound psychological awareness. The thick and vigorous build-up of paint, applied to coarse burlap with a palette knife, divulges the emotive force that guided his hand.
Who was Morris Graves? Even those who knew the artist well pondered the question in their writings about him. With his intense, searching gaze and his deeply self-absorbed demeanor, Graves was an arresting figure—he seemed to have looked every bit the part of a man on a solitary quest for enlightenment. Even his high school teacher recalled that Graves attracted attention just by his presence: "He was so fascinating that some students followed him around to observe his antics."
Self-discovery would seem to have been Graves' motivation to paint. This self-portrait is the result of unflinching self scrutiny. As he looked deeper into himself, Graves became interested not in his physical being but in his spiritual makeup. He imagined himself at one with nature's other life forms and saw himself as another solitary and vulnerable creature—like a delicate bird, whose very existence is shaped by the forces of nature.
Self-discovery would seem to have been Graves' motivation to paint. This self-portrait is the result of unflinching self scrutiny. As he looked deeper into himself, Graves became interested not in his physical being but in his spiritual makeup. He imagined himself at one with nature's other life forms and saw himself as another solitary and vulnerable creature—like a delicate bird, whose very existence is shaped by the forces of nature.
Object number85.268
ProvenanceMr. and Mrs. Max Weinstein, Seattle, Washington, by 1956; to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1985
Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia
I believe . . . that in painting, one must convey the feeling of the subject, rather than the imperfect physical truth through photographically correct statement of the object.
Morris Graves, 1937
Credit LineGift of Florence Weinstein in memory of Max Weinstein
Dimensions25 1/2 x 19 3/4 in. (64.8 x 50.2 cm)
MediumOil on canvas
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