standing blonde little girl with green eyes, wearing a pink dress with white polka dots, pink hair ribbon, white socks with pink trim, and red shoes, and holds a purple flower in her PR hand; girl has blank facial expression; girl stands in front of a wall mural with a blue and yellow dragon against a red ground with glitter highlights against a red ground with bold black Chinese characters; shiny black floor

%C2%A9 The Joan Brown Estate

Portrait of a Girl, 1971

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Portrait of a Girl is among Joan Brown’s most startling and engaging self-portraits, a memory picture, allegorical and mysterious. It is based on two photographs of Brown as a child. The Chinese dragon screen that looms behind her is based on a black-and-white illustration in a book Brown owned. She imaginatively combined her image and the screen, presenting them together to establish a tension between the two elements that provokes the viewer to muse on the relationship between Brown as a little girl and the menacing dragon.

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Details
Title
Portrait of a Girl
Artist Life
1938 - 1990
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2018.21
Curator Approved

This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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standing blonde little girl with green eyes, wearing a pink dress with white polka dots, pink hair ribbon, white socks with pink trim, and red shoes, and holds a purple flower in her PR hand; girl has blank facial expression; girl stands in front of a wall mural with a blue and yellow dragon against a red ground with glitter highlights against a red ground with bold black Chinese characters; shiny black floor

© The Joan Brown Estate

Because of © restrictions, we can only show you a small image of this artwork. (You'll have to come see it in person.)