Object Details
- Artist
- Alice Matzkin, born 1939
- Sitter
- Betty Friedan, 4 Feb 1921 - 4 Feb 2006
- Exhibition Label
- Born Peoria, Illinois
- Betty Friedan’s analysis of women’s limited roles in American society, entitled The Feminine Mystique, was published in 1963. This controversial book galvanized the modern-day feminist movement and led to Friedan’s co-founding the National Organization for Women. Her focus on family values and the role of partnership in marriage continued into the late 1990s as she encouraged the creation of a “new paradigm . . . one based on today’s economic and demographic realities.” Artist Alice Matzkin arrived at Friedan’s home in Washington, D.C., hoping to have one question answered: “What makes life worthwhile?” Seventy-two photographs and fifteen minutes later, Friedan had entered a reflective state that inspired Matzkin’s depiction of the feminist matriarch.
- Nacida en Peoria, Illinois
- Betty Friedan publicó en 1963 un análisis sobre el limitado papel que tenían las mujeres en la sociedad estadounidense y lo tituló La mística de la feminidad. Este libro controversial dio vida al movimiento feminista contemporáneo y Friedan pasaría luego a cofundar la Organización Nacional de la Mujer. Friedan promovió los valores de la familia y la importancia de la colaboración en el matrimonio hasta fines de la década de 1990, abogando por la creación de “un nuevo paradigma . . . basado en las realidades económicas y demográficas de hoy”. La artista Alice Matzkin llegó a la casa de Friedan en Washington, D.C., esperando que le contestara una pregunta: ¿Qué hace que la vida merezca la pena? Quince minutos y setenta y dos fotografías más tarde, Friedan asumió un aire reflexivo que inspiró a Matzkin este retrato de la matriarca feminista.
- Provenance
- The artist; purchase 1996 NPG
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
- 1995
- Object number
- NPG.96.45
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Copyright
- © 1995 Alice Matzkin
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Acrylic on canvas
- Dimensions
- Stretcher: 101.6 x 91.4 x 2.5cm (40 x 36 x 1")
- Frame: 104.1 x 94 x 4.4cm (41 x 37 x 1 3/4")
- Place
- United States\California\Ventura\Ojai
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Location
- Currently not on view
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Betty Friedan: Female
- Betty Friedan: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer
- Betty Friedan: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Social reformer
- Betty Friedan: Arts and Culture\Journalism and Media\Editor
- Betty Friedan: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Feminist
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.96.45
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4b8e18862-b10e-42ad-abed-310950be2ba4
