Lois Dodd

This self-portrait of Lois Dodd (born 1927) hangs  in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

Lois Dodd, active in the New York art world since the 1950s, is known for the cityscapes that she painted from her New York studio window and the landscapes that she did in the woods and gardens of her Maine summer house. As the only woman founder of the Tanager Gallery, an influential artist-run gallery in the East Village, she helped form an outlet for emerging artists whose work the established New York galleries would not exhibit.

Although surrounded by the Abstract Expressionists, Dodd created a unique style of realism. Her maxim, “The more you look, the more you see,” provides a guide to viewing this self-portrait, where she peers through oversized glasses toward the viewer, with a questioning gaze. A black hat frames her wild hair, giving her an eccentric appearance, while the lavender, green, orange, and yellow tones shadowing her face resemble the colors from nature seen in her landscapes.