The Widow

Artist Janet Sobel (1894 - 1968)

Date1942

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions30 × 24 in. (76.2 × 61 cm)
Framed: 38 in. × 32 in. × 1 5/8 in.

ClassificationsPainting

Credit LinePromised Gift to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas

Signedl.r.: Janet Sobel

On View

Not on view

Label TextJanet Sobel created a surreal scene in The Widow with figures set in a disorienting space and human faces emerging from the landscape. With no formal training, Sobel taught herself to paint late in life and developed an inventive approach to abstraction.

Sobel immigrated to the United States in 1908 to escape persecution against Jews in Ukraine. The animated patterns and repetitive marks here recall Ukrainian folk art, which she knew well.

Janet Sobel creó una escena surrealista en La ventana, con figuras dispuestas en un espacio desorientador y rostros humanos que emergen del paisaje. Sin estudios formales, Sobel aprendió a pintar de manera autodidacta en su madurez y desarrolló un enfoque ingenioso hacia la abstracción.

Sobel inmigró a los Estados Unidos en 1908 para escapar la persecución contra los judíos en Ucrania. Los patrones animados y las marcas repetitivas de esta obra recuerdan al arte folklórico ucraniano, con el que la artista estaba muy familiarizada.
Markingsverso, u.l.: 38910 B SN [remaining text obscured by hardware] [hardwritted on tape]
verso, u.r.: Janet Sobel / The Widow (JSC008) / c. 1945 / Oil on canvas / JSC008 [label]
verso, u.r.: DC MOORE GALLERY / 724 FIFTH AVE / NEW YORK NY 10019 / TEL 212 247 2111 / Exhibited: / Janet Sobel: / Pictures from a Photograph and Related Works / September 8 - October 8, 2005