Self Portrait
Grace Arnold Albee, American, 1890 - 1985
1966
Wood engraving on tissue
5/40
Image: 3 7/8 × 10 1/16 in. (9.9 × 25.5 cm)
Sheet: 6 5/16 × 12 5/16 in. (16.1 × 31.2 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Eugene P. Stichman, Class of 1957
2007.45.26
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
20th century
Object Name
Research Area
Not on view
Inscriptions
Signed, in block, center: GA [inverted and reversed]; numbered, in graphite, lower left margin: Ed. 5/40; inscribed, in graphite, lower left margin: {To Dr. Arthur Socalis for your very great help / in making it possible to continue my work in / the field of wood engraving. (Oct. 1967); titled, in graphite, lower center margin: " Self Portrait."; signed and dated, in graphite, lower right margin: Grace A. Albee , N.A. / 1966;
Label
A burin (wood-engraving tool) is meticulously pressed onto the end-grain surface of a Chinese boxwood block by feminine hands that vanish into darkness. The burin cuts fine lines across the surface. Once inked and printed, those incised lines will remain white, creating the contrast needed to capture the subject—here, a steeple.
Out of the more than 250 prints Albee made throughout her sixty-year career, she only created one self-portrait. Why did Albee choose to limit it to her hands? Her son provides some insight: “She is saying to her viewers, ‘If you want to know me, don’t look at my face, look at my hands. They are the instruments of my character.’” Albee reflects upon her identity as an artist through this image of her craft and the act of making.
From the 2026 exhibition A Space for Dialogue 130, Window and Mirror: Distinctions Between Artists and Their Subjects, curated by Jamylle Gomes Santos Oliveira ‘26, Mellon Intern
Exhibition History
A Space for Dialogue 130, Window and Mirror: Distinctions Between Artists and Their Subjects, Jamylle Gomes Santos Oliveira ‘26, Mellon Intern, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, May 9 - July 11, 2026.
Provenance
Eugene P. Stichman (1935-2013), Washington, D.C.; given to present collection, 2007.
Catalogue Raisonne
R.ORG GAA-138
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