Father, Resident Alien, 2017
Nancy E. Rivera, Mexican American, born 1986
2020
Embroidery floss on cotton cross stitch fabric
Canvas: 5 15/16 × 4 11/16 in. (15.1 × 11.9 cm)
Frame: 6 7/8 × 5 5/8 in. (17.5 × 14.3 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Contemporary Art Fund
© Nancy E. Rivera
2024.42.4
Portfolio / Series Title
Family Portrait
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
21st century
Object Name
Handsewn portrait
Research Area
Textiles and Costumes
Photograph
On view
Label
Family Portrait is a series featuring the artist, her mother, and her father gazing directly ahead, their expressions composed and neutral—a type of image reminiscent of ID photographs. Often required for immigration or other official documentation, ID images capture moments heavy with significance, their subdued colors reflecting the solemn transition from a familiar home to an unknown future. In Rivera’s hands, this seemingly straightforward portrait acquires profound depth. Inspired by her grandmother’s cross-stitching, Rivera recreates the image with delicate threadwork, its frayed and knotted ends weaving an intricately entangled dual narrative. One side traces her family’s migration from Mexico to the United States; the other reflects on the complexities of belonging and inheritance. These textured threads evoke the ties that bind, offering a poignant meditation on identity and displacement.
From the 2025 exhibition Visual Kinship, curated by Alisa Swindell, Associate Curator of Photography, Dr. Kimberly Juanita Brown, Dr. Thy Phu and Dr. Iyko Day
Course History
Latin 44.01, Latino Roots & Transitions, Gabrielle Cabrera, Spring 2025
College Course 26.01, What’s in Your Toolbox?, Casey Aldrich and Mokhtar Bouba, Fall 2025
Women’s, Gender, Sexuality Studies 65.07, Queer Popular Culture, Eng-Beng Lim, Fall 2025
Exhibition History
Visual Kinship, Lathrop, Jaffe and Hall Galleries, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, August 30 - November 29, 2025.
Provenance
The artist, Salt Lake City, Utah; sold to present collection, 2024.
This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.
We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu