Bettie Coles
Artist
Nathalie Boutté
(French, born 1967)
Date2019
Mediumcollage of Japan paper with printed text
Dimensionsframed: 65 × 51 cm (25 9/16 × 20 1/16 in.)
ClassificationsCollages / Assemblages
Credit LineMuseum purchase through the Theodore T. and Mary G. Ellis Fund, the Chapin Riley Fund at the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, and the Sarah C. Garver Fund
Object number2019.40
Label TextTo craft her collages Boutté meticulously assembles strips of printed text in the likeness of a sitter found in a vintage photograph. The subtle variations of gray and black are achieved through line spacing, letter spacing, and the weight of the type.
Unlike most of Boutté’s subjects, the identity of the figure in this portrait is known. Bettie Coles moved to Worcester’s Park Avenue from Virginia in the early 20th century. Boutté chose Coles as the subject for her work while perusing the catalogue for WAM’s 2017 exhibition "Rediscovering an American Community of Color: The Photographs of William Bullard". Close inspection of the text reveals words like “Beaver Brook,” a reference to the neighborhood where Bullard and Coles lived.ProvenanceCommissioned from the artist through Yossi Milo Gallery, New YorkOn View
Not on view
