Self-Portrait for Bedroom Painting No. 15

Tom Wesselmann made these preparatory drawings for the monumental canvas Bedroom Paitning No. 15 (77.420). By the late 1960s, Wesselmann had perfected a traditional working method that included creating numerous sketches such as this pair. In Drawing for Bedroom Painting No. 15 (87.508), Wesselmann determined the painting’s overall composition, carefully arranging a pillow, orange, rose, photograph, and female foot. As the drawing indicates, he initially planned to depict the sole of the foot, but ultimately flipped the image to show the top, its glossy red nails heightening the work’s sensual allure and chromatic punch. In Self-Portrait for Bedroom Painting No. 15, he perfected the details of the bedside photograph. The self-portrait shows him gazing raptly at the “nipple” of an orange—a tantalizing allusion to the female nude lounging nearby.

87.507