Self-Portrait of My Sister
Artist: Gertrude Abercrombie (American, 1909–1977)
Date: 1941
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
Description
Here, the artist exaggerated and idealized her appearance, depicting herself with an extraordinarily long, slender neck; vivid blue eyes; and sharpened features. She portrayed herself wearing black gloves and a flat-brimmed hat trimmed with a bunch of grapes, all motifs that recurred with some frequency in her paintings and acted as symbols of her presence. Such inclusions helped shape her individual variant of Surrealism, which she felt was based in realism. “Surrealism is meant for me,” she remarked, “because I am a pretty realistic person but don’t like all I see. So I dream that it is changed. Then I change it to the way I want it. It is almost always pretty real. Only mystery and fantasy have been added. All foolishness has been taken out. It becomes my own dream.”
