Untitled
Artist
Richard Billingham
(British, born 1970)
Date1995
MediumSFA color photograph on aluminum
Dimensions119.4 × 78.7 cm (47 × 31 in.)
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineAustin S. Garver Fund
Object number1998.168
Label Text“My mother Elizabeth hardly drinks but she does smoke a lot. She likes pets and things that are decorative.”
With what details do you begin to judge the character in this portrait by Richard Billingham—her odalisque-like pose on the couch, the décor of her environment, her ample physique and slipper-and-housedress attire, her oblivious response to the camera? Has she failed to conform to your standards of acceptable taste or is her self-image simply one that is rarely the subject of traditional portraiture? Does the knowledge that she is Mrs. Billingham, the artist’s mother, change your response?
ProvenanceLuhring Augustine Gallery, West 24th St., New York, NY 10011On View
Not on view
