Francis Picabia Self-Portrait

A friend of Alfred Stieglitz and part of the circle of modernists surrounding Stieglitz’s 291 gallery in New York City, Francis Picabia was in effect the star of the July/August 1915 issue of the short-lived 291 journal. This issue, unlike any other, comprised five conceptual portrait prints, created with clear dark lines, hand coloring, and puzzling inscriptions. Called “mechanomorphs,” the subjects appear to be mechanical objects but were meant to represent specific individuals. Picabia depicted himself as an upright car horn, in the company of four friends: Stieglitz, a photographer; the French writer Paul Haviland, the Mexican caricaturist Marius de Zayas, and a “Young American Girl,” thought to stand in for Agnes Meyer, a patron and friend of the group. According to scholar Hannah Wong, the fold-out publication, when engaged by a viewer and folded or refolded, puts these subjects into dialogue with each other. Ultimately, Picabia presents himself as a leader of modern art and the portraits as a playful way to engage art’s audiences.