Mr Art (Portrait of David Sylvester)

Larry Rivers (1923 - 2002)

National Portrait Gallery

1962

A frontal portrait of David Sylvester depicted seated. The portrait demonstrates the apparently spontaneous brushwork that Rivers adapted from the Abstract Impressionists allied with carefully-observed figuration. Mr Art is a rare example of Rivers' portrait work, and is evidence of the many congruities between artist and sitter. They shared a Russian Jewish heritage and were both nonconformist, perfectionist and unwilling to settle for second-best.

• Medium: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 183 x 137cm
• Art Fund Grant: £40000 ( Total: £105,560)
• ArtFunded in: 2004
• Vendor: Richard Gray Gallery

Provenance

Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York; Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York; Richard Himmel, Chicago; Private Collection, USA; Richard Gray Gallery, New York.

Add your comments about this artwork Hide this form

Have your say