Environment
Eldzier Cortor
(American, 1916–2015)
1947
Medium/TechniqueOil on board
Dimensions68.6 x 40.6 cm (27 x 16 in.)
Credit LineThe John Axelrod Collection—Frank B. Bemis Fund, Charles H. Bayley Fund, and The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection
Accession number2011.1822
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPaintings
Collections
African American women were among Cortor’s most important subjects, and he gave them the grace and lyricism he discovered in his study of African sculpture at the Field Museum in Chicago. Cortor’s painted rooftop setting extends into the viewer’s space through his use of compressed perspective and his thick manipulation of paint into a three-dimensional relief.
ProvenanceJohn Rosenwald, CA; Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York; Bernard King, NJ; by January 1999, with Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York; January 1999, sold by Michael Rosenfeld Gallery to John Axelrod, Boston; 2011, sold by Axelrod to the MFA. (Accession date: June 22, 2011)
Copyright© 2022 Eldzier Cortor / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
