Mother

Date1985

Maker Alden Mason American, 1919 - 2013

Label TextMother is a bold and ruthless portrait of a woman, whose image conjures up a range of associations embodied in the rawness and aggressiveness of this figure. A portrait of Mason's mother, it recalls the great painting of Woman I (1950-52) by the American Abstract Expressionist, Willem de Kooning, and reveals Mason's influences-including de Kooning's uninhibited use of paint to both define, obscure and interpret the female figure.

Object number86.101

ProvenanceThe artist; gifted to the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Wash., Sept. 8, 1986

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Recent Modern Acquisitions, Aug. 27 - Oct. 18, 1987. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Other Figures, May 25 - July 16, 1989. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Vistas and Visage, Dec. 16, 1993 - July 17, 1994. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, First Person Singular, May 31, 2001 - Mar. 17, 2002. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Alden Mason, Nov. 6, 2010 - July 17, 2011.

Credit LineGift of the artist

Dimensions82 x 70 in. (208.3 x 177.8 cm)

MediumAcrylic on canvas