Larry RiversAmerican, 1923–2002The Studio
May one see it?
Not receiving at present
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Minneapolis, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- 3 days ago
- In this state since
- Sep 25, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the painting
Although influenced by the Abstract Expressionists, as this painting's size and gestural style reveal, Larry Rivers remained committed to portraying recognizable figures. Here he depicts a nude African-American woman and also friends and family (from left to right: the poet Frank O'Hara; Rivers's sons, Joseph and Steven; and his mother-in-law, Berdie). Rivers himself appears in the pinned-up drawing at the upper right.
This work refers to a masterpiece of a century earlier, The Painter's Studio, by the French realist painter Gustave Courbet. Like Courbet, Rivers examined his own artistic role and motivations by portraying his studio. The African-American woman holding a banner with the half-erased legend Liberty is an allusion to contemporary social and political problems.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Particulars
- Accession number
- 63.15
In the catalog
Sources
- Minneapolis Institute of Art: the museum's own open data · fetched 3 days ago
- Image: Minneapolis Institute of Art — © Estate Larry Rivers / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
