The History of Her Life Written Across Her Face
Print
1991 (made)
1991 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This print by Margo Humphrey recounts her personal experiences as an African-American artist and woman. A bold and simplified self portrait is overwritten with images, symbols and script which retell a personal narrative. The same narrative is presented in a piece of handwritten text pasted to the portrait. Humphrey began sketches for this portrait in 1986, inspired by images of veiled women and by a National Geographic photograph of a woman with a Sanskrit prayer tattooed across her face.
Humphrey studied printmaking at the California College of Arts and Crafts and received her MFA in printmaking from Stanford University. After her studies, she travelled in Europe, Brazil, the Caribbean and Africa. She taught art in Benin, Nigeria and Uganda. Humphrey’s interest in oral traditions and storytelling is also apparent in this work.
Humphrey studied printmaking at the California College of Arts and Crafts and received her MFA in printmaking from Stanford University. After her studies, she travelled in Europe, Brazil, the Caribbean and Africa. She taught art in Benin, Nigeria and Uganda. Humphrey’s interest in oral traditions and storytelling is also apparent in this work.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The History of Her Life Written Across Her Face (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Colour lithograph and collage on paper |
| Brief description | Margo Humphrey, 'The History of her life written across her face', colour lithograph, 1992 |
| Physical description | Simplified self portrait overlaid with images, symbols and script. Colour lithograph with metallic leaf and chine colle on paper |
| Dimensions |
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| Copy number | 19/30 |
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Gallery label | [From leaflet] 'The American Margo Humphrey (b.1942) draws us into a more personal history through the engaging device of a child's reading game. Yet the hieratic face and byzantine gaze command the respect usually reserved for religious icons.' |
| Credit line | Given by Judith Brodsky |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This print by Margo Humphrey recounts her personal experiences as an African-American artist and woman. A bold and simplified self portrait is overwritten with images, symbols and script which retell a personal narrative. The same narrative is presented in a piece of handwritten text pasted to the portrait. Humphrey began sketches for this portrait in 1986, inspired by images of veiled women and by a National Geographic photograph of a woman with a Sanskrit prayer tattooed across her face. Humphrey studied printmaking at the California College of Arts and Crafts and received her MFA in printmaking from Stanford University. After her studies, she travelled in Europe, Brazil, the Caribbean and Africa. She taught art in Benin, Nigeria and Uganda. Humphrey’s interest in oral traditions and storytelling is also apparent in this work. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.2833-1995 |
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| Record created | June 27, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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