Mother

1985

American, 1919 - 2013

Mother 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.

Acrylic on canvas

82 x 70 in. (208.3 x 177.8 cm)

Gift of the artist

86.101

Provenance: The artist; gifted to the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Wash., Sept. 8, 1986

Not currently on view

Resources

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.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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