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Catalog Data

Artist:
Anh Duong, born 25 Oct 1960  Search this
Sitter:
Diane von Fürstenberg, born 31 Dec 1946  Search this
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
Stretcher: 243.8 × 182.9cm (96 × 72")
Type:
Painting
Place:
United States\New York\Kings\New York\Manhattan Island
Date:
2001
Exhibition Label:
Diane von Fürstenberg became a fashion icon in the 1970s as the inventor of the wrap dress, a soft jersey sheath designed to follow the natural contours of a woman’s body. Practical yet sexy, the dress had a streamlined elegance that conveyed the empowered femininity of the women’s movement. Having learned from her mother, an Auschwitz survivor, that “fear is not an option,” von Fürstenberg has begun urging women to apply that philosophy to aging.
“In my older face, I see my life,” she has observed. “My face carries all my memories. Why should I erase them?”
Artist Anh Duong finds equal significance in the eyes of her sitters, which she believes “can express the inner workings of a person.” She began this portrait with the right eye. After an hour, von Fürstenberg recalled, “There were only my eyes in this huge canvas, but she had captured all of me.”
Diane von Fürstenberg se convirtió en ícono de la moda en la década de 1970 al inventar el wrap
dress, un vestido de corte cruzado en tela de punto suave que se ajustaba al contorno natural del cuerpo
femenino. Práctico y sexy a la vez, el vestido tenía una elegancia sencilla que encarnaba a la mujer empoderada, surgida del movimiento feminista. Von Fürstenberg aprendió de su madre, sobreviviente de Auschwitz, que “el miedo no es opción posible” y ha exhortado a las mujeres a aplicar esa filosofía a la edad. “En mi cara madura veo mi vida”, ha comentado. “Mi cara encierra todos mis recuerdos. ¿Por qué voy a borrarlos?”.
La artista Anh Duong encuentra ese mismo sentido en los ojos de sus modelos, que “pueden expresar los procesos internos de la persona”. Duong comenzó este retrato pintando el ojo derecho. Al cabo de una hora, recuerda Von Fürstenberg, “en ese lienzo enorme estaban solo mis ojos, pero me había captado completa”.
Provenance:
The artist; Diane von Fürstenberg
Topic:
Diane von Fürstenberg: Female  Search this
Diane von Fürstenberg: Visual Arts\Designer\Fashion designer  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Diane von Fürstenberg
Object number:
NPG.2015.3
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© 2001, Anh Duong
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm42d184b71-f8ef-47ad-8d4c-3976f3641386
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.2015.3