The Edgar P. Richardson Lecture Series in American Portraiture, 2020
“Women, Portraiture, and Power”
Suzanne Valadon: An Artist on View Marie-Clémentine Valadon (1865–1938), who began her career as a popular artist’s model after a difficult childhood, defied the odds to become a successful painter. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec even gave her the nickname “Suzanne,” after the biblical story of Susanna and the Elders, in which two old men prey on a beautiful bathing woman. Valadon began exhibiting her prints and drawings in the 1880s, and in the twentieth century enjoyed considerable commercial success. Reactions to her bohemian lifestyle, however, marred her critical reception. Thus, this lecture will explore how Valadon effectively
exchanged one kind of scrutiny for another. Presented by Nancy Ireson, Deputy Director for Collections and Exhibitions & Gund Family Chief Curator at the Barnes Foundation. This presentation is part of the Edgar P. Richardson Lecture Series hosted by PORTAL, the Portrait Gallery's Scholarly Center. |