‘Proserpine’ by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Elizabeth Mellen, art historian
- archival pigment inkjet print
- 11 x 17 in
- Nancy Webber
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Not For Sale
In Nancy Webber's project, "Life Imitates Art," famous paintings are paired with contemporary re-creations. Her encyclopedic memory of art allows her to "recognize" modern-day people as models for historical paintings. Her subjects are rarely professional models, but they enthusiastically embrace the chance to go back in time, if only on film.
Of this work, Webber says: "When Elizabeth Mellen saw my work in the Sunday Magazine of the London Times in 1981, she contacted me in London. As an art historian, she knew she greatly resembled Rossetti's model Janie Morris. The small courtyard of the house where I stayed in London had ivy vines, which made the simpatico setting for this photo. For the writing in the upper right hand corner, I used a postcard sent to me by an English friend, who had visited a gallery where I had exhibited in 1980, saying 'America is wonderful.'"
- Collections: TMC Healing Art Program