“Tête-à-Tête” Portrait Pairings from the SCNY Permanent Collection

The art of portraiture is one of the oldest and most intimate forms of the figurative tradition in painting. At its best, a portrait can capture the very essence of the sitter allowing for an engaging dialogue between the subject and viewer. As a nod to the extraordinary work of John Howard Sanden in the main gallery, the curators have assembled a worthy compliment to it.  

This exhibition draws from the wealth of portraiture in the Club's collection to pair up male and female portraits in a “tête-à-tête” format, and in doing so, will hopefully inspire some spirited conversation in the process. A number of the works will be immediately recognized by members, such as Carle J. Blenner's "Portrait of a Lady" and Albert Rosenthal's presidential portrait of "J. Carleton Wiggins." While others, such as Arthur Freedlander's "Self Portrait," Frank Fowler's "Heloise," A. Henry Nordhausen's "Hungarian Girl" and Stanislav Rembski's portrait of the artist "Edward C. Caswell," will leave viewers more than pleasantly surprised.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.