Piotr on Couch

1996

American, born 1965

Elizabeth Peyton makes paintings of famous people based on images she takes from books, magazines, and album covers. The sitter here is Piotr Uklanski, a Polish-born New York artist represented by Peyton's gallery. Here, Peyton took her own photographs of the sitter to be used for the paintings. Peyton's work reflects her awareness that her sitters are often in the public eye. She uses bright colors and distills her subjects' appearances to highlight their most recognizable features. Peyton acknowledges her indebtedness to Andy Warhol's images of American pop culture icons. Peyton's own work, however, is far more intimate that Warhol's. She works in a smaller scale, and tends to show famous figures in quiet moments.

Oil on board

Overall: 7 3/4 × 10in. (19.7 × 25.4cm)

Gift of the William E. Weiss Foundation, Inc.

97.11

Photographer: Susan Cole

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryNew York, Museum of Modern Art, Project #60: Nostalgia for Painting, June 26-Sept. 10, 1997.

St. Louis, Mo., The Saint Louis Art Museum, Currents 71: Elizabeth Peyton, Oct. 7-Dec. 7, 1997.

Seattle, Wash., Seattle Art Museum, Elizabeth Peyton, Dec. 23, 1997-Mar. 22, 1998. Text by Trevor Fairbrother. Reproduced on cover.

Milwaukee, Wis., Milwaukee Art Museum, Interventions, Jan. 21-Apr. 23, 2000.

Seattle, Wash., Seattle Art Museum, First Person Singular, May 31, 2001-Mar. 17, 2002.

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