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Nicholasa Mohr

National Portrait Gallery

Object Details

Artist
Antonio Martorell, born 1939
Sitter
Nicholasa Mohr, born 1938
Exhibition Label
One of the first Latina authors to be published by a major U.S. press, Nicholasa Mohr was born to Puerto Rican parents who moved to New York at the height of the Great Depression. In 1973 Mohr published her first novel, Nilda, about a young girl coming of age in New York City during World War II while her mother was raising a family of six. The New York Times selected it Outstanding Book of the Year, launching Mohr’s literary career. Other works include the short story collection El Bronx Remembered (1975), the novel Felita (1979), and its sequel, Going Home (1986). Mohr’s books center on the experience of growing up Puerto Rican in the United States and are populated with resilient characters who endure hardship, pushing ahead for a better life.
Here, Antonio Martorell’s agile line captures Mohr’s vivacious personality, while recognizing her stature as a pillar of Nuyorican (New York–Puerto Rican) literature.
Nicholasa Mohr, una de las primeras autoras latinas cuya obra fue publicada por una editorial estadounidense importante, es hija de padres puertorriqueños que se mudaron a Nueva York en el apogeo de la Gran Depresión. En 1973 publicó su primera novela, Nilda, sobre una joven que llega a la adultez en la ciudad de Nueva York durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, mientras su madre cría a seis hijos. El New York Times lo seleccionó como Libro Sobresaliente del Año, lo cual lanzó la carrera literaria de Mohr. Entre sus demás obras se encuentra la colección de cuentos El Bronx Remembered (1975), la novela Felita (1979) y su secuela, Going Home (1986). Los libros de Mohr se centran en la vivencia de crecer como puertorriqueño en Estados Unidos y están poblados de personajes resilientes que hacen frente a situaciones adversas y se forjan una vida mejor.
Aquí, el trazo ágil de Antonio Martorell capta la personalidad vivaz de Mohr, a la vez que reconoce su estatura como pilar de la literatura nuyorican (neoyorquina-puertorriqueña).
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquisition made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center; framed with funds from the Smithsonian Women’s Committee
1994
Object number
NPG.2014.44
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
©1991 Antonio Martorell
Type
Drawing
Medium
Acrylic on paper
Dimensions
Sheet (incoming condition report): 213.4 × 129.9cm (84 × 51 1/8")
Frame: 223.8 × 140cm (88 1/8 × 55 1/8")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location
Currently not on view
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Nicholasa Mohr: Female
Nicholasa Mohr: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer
Portrait
Record ID
npg_NPG.2014.44
Metadata Usage (text)
Usage conditions apply
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4fab30c75-c5eb-47d1-b29f-467feba9754b

Related Content

  • American Women Writers

  • Latino History and Heritage in the Collections

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