Ethel Wallace Installation Shot - Portrait of Joseph Stella

Pictured:
Ethel Wallace (1886-1968), "Portrait of Joseph Stella," ca. 1920. Oil on canvas, framed: 69 x 44 inches. Collection of the late Kristina Barbara Johnson, courtesy of Jeniah Johnson.

Wallace’s portrait of the artist Joseph Stella (1877-1946) marks a radical shift away from her impressionistic landscapes to a bolder and more abstract style. With contrasting color and shifting perspectives, she positions Stella against a background teeming with motifs found in his intricate paintings, including the suggestion of an urban bridge. Stella was celebrated for his paintings of the Brooklyn Bridge, which served as a symbol of the United States’ rapid industrialization and increasing economic power.