Metamorphic (Black Portrait)
Artist
Cady Wells
(American, 1904 - 1954)
Date1933-1954
Mediumwatercolor and ink on paper
DimensionsImage: 5 3/4 × 3 15/16 in. (14.6 × 10 cm)
Support: 5 3/4 × 3 15/16 in. (14.6 × 10 cm)
Mat: 17 × 14 in. (43.2 × 35.6 cm)
Support: 5 3/4 × 3 15/16 in. (14.6 × 10 cm)
Mat: 17 × 14 in. (43.2 × 35.6 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of the E. Boyd Estate, 1975
Object number3271.23P
eMuseum NotesMetamorphic (Black Portrait) was likely produced after Cady Wells returned from military service during World War II. Wells conflated the facial features of the sitter with forms suggestive of natural phenomena, resulting in a hybrid image that seems to transfigure as a result of Wells's flowing line and glowing color. The portrait suggests instability and was likely a result of the anxiety with which Wells confronted the new Atomic Age.
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