Self-Portrait

Self-Portrait was given by the artist to the National Academy to fulfill a requirement of his election as an Associate member. The painting was executed in East Hampton, Long Island, where he rented a large house overlooking Gardener’s Island and the Atlantic Ocean. It makes reference to two of the artist’s major thematic and formal concerns of the 1970s and early 1980s: contemplative views of the ocean and open sky, and the depiction of radiant outdoor light. It is one of several paintings of the period that includes an image of a crow, and its appearance and placement suggest the idea of flight and freedom - the flight and freedom of an artist’s imagination.